Photo: dpa | Karl Josef Hildenbrand
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Imagine waking up and it’s war. On Thursday, that became the reality for numerous people. In Ukraine, many may not have slept properly for a long time because of the threat. So now it’s here, Russia’s war against Ukraine and the big question: what now?
Social media, often despised for spreading hatred and provocation, becomes a space for support and help in times of such need. That was the case after the end of the mission in Afghanistan, can be seen again and again in individual cases and will also be the case in the current war context. And that goes beyond mere expressions of solidarity and calls for rallies: »I have just been repeatedly contacted by desperate young Ukrainians* from the Vitsche Berlin association and asked for help. There is a specific question as to whether there are orgas who know the escape routes and have contacts who organize the admission of refugees,” wrote the author Jasmina Kuhnke on Twitter on Thursday morning. She has over 126,000 followers, including various non-governmental organizations and politicians.
But even less well-known people can gain increasing attention through engagement in social media, build up a network and find concrete support. This is exactly how it was possible in 2021 in numerous cases to bring Afghan local workers and their families from Kabul to Germany, while the evacuation actions of the federal government left a miserable impression. In times of crisis, thanks to social networks, digital contacts become real rescue.
Two years ago, the Canadian Women’s Foundation drew attention to a hand signal intended to enable victims of domestic violence to ask strangers for help without the perpetrator being aware of it. Videos featuring the sign went viral on social media, helping to stop an actual kidnapping in the US state of Kentucky in November 2021. A 16-year-old girl had “shouted” for help from the car, which other drivers saw and called the police.
Especially people of Generation Z, the “digital natives”, who were born between 1997 and 2010 and grew up in the digital world, also use social media for information. Instead of the “Tagesschau” they get information on the video portal Tiktok. Instead of writing a letter to the editor, you tweet. The war scene ends up unfiltered, so to speak, in front of one’s own front door: kilometer-long chains of rear lights from cars that are stuck in traffic or in line at the gas station; Air raids, beacons and clouds of smoke over a city. Everything can be accessed quickly online.
Of course, not all images are correct, and not all sources are secure. In addition, attention must be paid to manipulations such as »astroturfing«. Spontaneous grassroots movements are feigned for political PR or commercial advertising reasons in order to suggest an idea or support »from below«. Nevertheless: There are numerous channels that report really serious things worth knowing. On Tiktok in particular, accounts have emerged that provide personal impressions and short news about the conflict in Ukraine – and thus produce news for Generation Z.
The Ukrainian »xenasolo«, for example, makes no secret of her dislike of Putin in her videos, but at the same time explains factually about what is happening in her homeland. American Philip DeFranco has over a million followers on Tiktok. On Thursday he was one of the first to provide information about the Russian attack in a video.
In this respect, not everything is bad about Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Co. In times of crisis, they become truly social networks.
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