Since the onset of the 2022 Russia-Ukraine War, the government of Ukraine has relied heavily on social media to narrate war related events, shape media coverage of the war, rally online support for Ukraine’s war effort and delegitimize Russia’s violent invasion. In a recent journal article, Moran Yarchi and I sought to examine Ukraine’s innovative social media tactics, while asking an important question: which of these innovations will other ministries of foreign affairs (MFAs) adopt, and how will they reshape the practice of digital diplomacy? We began by reviewing 90 digital diplomacy studies and identifying which factors contribute to the spread of innovative social media practices among MFAs, and which factors limit the spread of innovative practices. Our 14-factor matrix, which includes elements like digital experience, peer emulation, ethical concerns, and resource requirements, was used to assess each Ukrainian innovation, and determine whether it would diffuse among MFAs giving rise to new forms of digital diplomacy. Notably, Ukraine’s innovation lies not in the adoption of new technologies but in using existing technologies such as social media in novel ways. We first identified three Ukrainian innovations that will likely spread among MFAs.
1. Open Letters to Tech CEOs
From the onset of the War, Ukraine’s Minister of Digital Transformation publicly tweeted open letters to tech leaders including Tim Cook of Apple, Mark Zuckerberg of Meta, and others demanding they exit the Russian market in response to the Russian invasion. These weren’t private diplomatic notes, shared privately between states and tech companies, but public appeals shared on Twitter/X and designed to generate public pressure on tech companies. This Ukrainian tactic proved highly effective as more than 200 tech companies suspended their operations in Russia owing to both public pressure and additional pressure from the US government. Notably, Ukraine also used open letters to secure digital assistance tweeting at Elon Musk and asking him to provide Ukraine with Starlink satellite units.
This innovative tactic will likely spread among MFAs as it serves as a “digital success story” showing that public pressure on tech moguls can help shape their policies. Yet the implications of this new digital are profound. Silicon Valley has effectively chosen sides in a war, and every digital precedent is set to repeat itself. This means that future wars may be determined by states ability to instigate tech boycotts of another state. Tech boycotts can be as disastrous for societies as financial sanctions. Presently, Russian citizens can’t use the gig economy, sell products globally, or access cloud services. This could suggest that in the future, diplomacy will involve currying favour with tech CEOs. Silicon Valley Embassies will increasingly be called upon to manage relations of friendship with tech CEOs to avoid possible boycotts. This will not only increase the power of Silicon Valley, but it may also stifle national attempts to regulate Big Tech out of fear of future boycotts.
2. Radicalized Humor and Memes
Ukraine has used humor, pop culture references, and memes to retain the attention of social media users. By comparing the War to Marvel movies and the Star Wars franchise, Ukraine created a simple narrative of a heroic Ukraine battling a villainous Russia in an epic struggle of good versus evil. But our analysis found that as the War progressed, Ukraine employed “radicalized humor” where Ukrainian accounts posted increasingly graphic content including videos of Russian death set to rock music, romantic sentiments towards weapons, celebrations of death and destruction and techno music dance routines performed in front of cannon fodder. Through these tweets, the tragedy of War was obscured by one-line zingers.
This tactic will likely spread among MFAs as humor has already becoming central to the practice of digital diplomacy. Indeed, several nations already use humor to create distinct online brands such as France and Russia. The danger is that through “radicalized humor” War becomes beautified and normalized to the point where social media users may view armed warfare as a natural solution to international tensions. Moreover, the depiction of War as an epic battle of good versus evil may lead to diplomatic negotiations being portrayed as obstacles preventing the triumph of good over evil, eroding public support for diplomacy.
Crucially, we found that memes in particular reduce complex geopolitical conflicts to simplistic good versus evil stories which can generate unrealistic expectations among social media users as good always triumphs over evil on the Big Screen. When wars inevitably end in diplomatic settlements rather than grand victory, publics may feel betrayed and lose faith in diplomacy itself.
3. Celebrity Digital Ambassadors
Ukraine has appointed several American celebrities as digital ambassadors, including Star Wars actor Mark Hamill, singer Barbra Streisand, and historian Timothy Snyder. Each of these brought with them a large online following allowing Ukraine to reach diverse social media publics. This tactic is likely to spread among MFAs as celebrities have long been recruited by organizations like UNICEF, and some countries already use celebrity envoys. Israel, for example, appointed actress Noa Tishby as an official envoy to combat antisemitism.
However, this tactic too complicates diplomacy. Indeed, Mark Hamill did not use his Twitter/X account just for raising humanitarian aid. Instead, he became the face of Ukraine’s “Army of Drones,” helping raise $1.5 million for reconnaissance drones used in targeting Russian forces. The U24 crowdfunding website features Luke Skywalker imagery and the phrase “These are the drones you’re looking for.” This fusion of pop culture and warfare is troubling as Star Wars fans obtaining signed posters in exchange for donation to Ukraine become complicit in acts of war without deliberating moral implications. Ukraine even coined the term “dronate”, combining the words “donate” and “drone”, in reference to its use of Mark Hamill to raise money for deadly drones. This creates a new phenomenon of “complicity without accountability” where individuals fund weapons but aren’t held responsible for how they’re used. Moreover, the commodification of war through celebrity culture promotes a blasé attitude toward armed conflicts.
The Innovation That Won’t Spread: Crowdfunding Weapons
From the war’s beginning, Ukraine poste bank account details on Twitter to crowdfund the procurement of weapons. The U24 platform raised over $300 million for humanitarian aid and advanced weapons. Users could even earmark donations for specific weapons. Despite its success, our analysis suggests that this tactic is unlikely to spread among MFAs for several reasons.
First, the crowdfunding of weapons procurement creates ethical concerns as diplomats become recruitment officers, transforming their relationship with the public from engagement to transactional donor relations. Second, Crowdfunding weapons fundamentally changes how publics interact with diplomacy and warfare, creating a world where any armed group can rely on social media users for aid in purchasing weapons. Third, the crowdfunding of weapons creates a dangerous precedent: If states crowdfund weapons, so will rebel groups and terrorist organizations, potentially leading to the global proliferation of conflicts.
The Long Road Ahead
This research reveals that Ukraine’s digital innovations will have a lasting impact on the practice of digital diplomacy. The beautification of war through humor, the reduction of complex geopolitics to memes, the commodification of conflict through celebrity culture, and the empowerment of Big Tech as diplomatic actors all represent fundamental shifts in how nations conduct diplomacy.
These changes may broaden public support for military solutions while diminishing support for diplomatic negotiations. They may shift power from governments to Silicon Valley, and they transform publics into active participants in wars as opposed to passive consumers of wartime tweets and posts. Ukraine’s innovations have opened a Pandora’s box that may be impossible to close, fundamentally altering the relationship between war, diplomacy, technology, and the public and impacting the future practice of digital diplomacy.
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