Dispatch from the war zone: Kyle Chayka on the effects of using social media to document war

Social media platforms are another front in 21st century warfare, and people have increasingly turned to them to narrate and share their personal war experiences. From Syria to Ukraine, images and videos circulated on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok have chronicled the human impact of conflict in real time. In this essay, Kyle Chayka analyzes how these glimpses affect both those in the war and those watching it online.

Kyle Chayka, "Watching the World's 'First TikTok War,'" The New Yorker, 3 March 2022

 

1. How do war videos circulated on social media help “create a sense of intimacy” between those in a conflict and those watching it? Focus on one TikTok video example from the war in Ukraine included in the essay. How might the feelings and sense of intimacy created by this video affect the various stakeholders in the conflict, such as civilians in Ukraine, people outside of Ukraine, governments, or corporations?
   
2. What are two major drawbacks to using a social media platform like TikTok to share and consume information about a war, such as the conflict in Ukraine?
3. Chayka uses metacommentary to organize his argument for his readers. Review the metacommentary templates listed in Chapter 10. Find an example of metacommentary in Chayka’s essay that you think works particularly well. What does this metacommentary do for Chayka’s readers? How does it enhance his writing?
4. In his essay, Chayka references the work of Susan Sontag, an American philosopher who wrote about the politics and ethics of war photography. Watch this short interview with Sontag, in which she reads a passage from her 2003 book, Regarding the Pain of Others: “We truly can’t imagine what it was like. We can’t imagine how dreadful, how terrifying war is; and how normal it becomes.” (3:17) What strikes you as important in this passage or interview? How do you think Sontag might respond to Chayka’s essay? Do you think there is a meaningful difference between traditional war photojournalism and broadcast news and the user-generated videos and images shared on social media? Why or why not?

Comments

[Chole48]

On the impact of social media like TikTok on war, I agree with Susan Sontag in the article that photos have a deeper meaning than videos when it comes to documenting war, and that a photo taken at the scene can be remembered for generations. I remember seeing Robert Capa's The Falling Soldier in my history book when I was in elementary school. That was the first time I had a visual understanding of war and death. To this day, I still can't forget the soldier falling backward with a bullet in his body in the picture. But the traditional way of reporting on war, in which war correspondents walk on the edge of death, is also dangerous. According to what I learned online, Robert Capa was killed in Vietnam. Capa's ultimate sacrifice in Vietnam The way people receive news has changed dramatically, with the growth of social media such as Tiktok. In World War II, people learned about the war on the radio, and in the 1960s, people learned about the Vietnam War through the evening news on TV. And now, we can learn about war news through social media at anytime, anywhere. While short videos are faster than traditional reports from war correspondents, they are also full of fake news. For example, when a residential building was shelled in Chuguyev, eastern Ukraine, on Feb. 24, Anadolu Agency photographer Wolfgang Schwan took a picture of a wounded person at the scene. The photo was soon made into a video and went viral on Tiktok. However, some media outlets pointed out that the photo was not taken in Ukraine but was an old photo taken during a gas explosion in Magnitogorsk, Russia, in 2018. This lack of credibility is not a minority opinion. There are Various fake videos are flying around on TikTok. For example, the rumored video of the Kyiv Ghost battle that shot down six Russian fighters in one day is, miraculously, a scene from the air combat simulation game Digital Combat Simulation. There is also the video of the Ukrainian soldier who moved countless netizens to say goodbye to his girlfriend in tears, which is a clip from the movie "The War of Chimeras."

[Tiana & Deana]

Accessibility to the internet has given the world brand new means to document current events. As illustrated in the article above it’s been used to document the Ukraine war. Direct videos from the people experience the horrors of war uploaded straight to social media for people to see exactly as it is happening. On one hand, it is a incredible insight into what war actually is and looks like, but on the other the social media aspect has lead to people faking videos that spread misinformation about what is really going on. In the digital era everything is digitized, progress, political information, your interests, and war too. It’s the beginning of a whole new era of how we see and receive information from events. Although the traditional photographic journalism is still very much a part of how we see the world, social media is minute by minute, real time, live journalism. Unfortunately, as said previously, it is hard to know what is real and what is fake news. I agree that you can not replace the way traditional photographic journalism records history in some ways but in other ways social media has it's own way of recording history as it unfolds right before our eyes. I believe this world has room for both journalistic ways.

[regie]

Nowadays, people use social media to stay updated on various events happening around the world. In the article about the Ukraine war, the country receives sympathy from people through the social media platform TikTok in just one clip. It is also true that what people post on social media can be believed by many people without hearing the other side of the story; therefore, everyone should be cautious when posting on social media, as the saying goes, "Think before you click." Aside from that, journalism used TikTok to document the war between Ukraine and Russia to inform people about what is going on in the country since TikTok has a larger user base than Facebook, and journalists in not just using TikTok to join on the trend. TikTok is one of the best apps for staying updated through the video clips captured in real life and is considered a reliable source.

[James Cowlishaw]

In the New York Times article, author Kyle Chaya exposes readers to the broadcasting of the war in Ukraine via TikTok. The reading starts off by mentioning a TikTok video in which missiles are being dropped over Ukraine like fireworks. I remember seeing this video on my feed and being horrified. One blogger mentions, “Direct videos from the people experiencing the horrors of war uploaded straight to social media for people to see exactly as it is happening”. Although videos of the war are hard to watch, TikTok was a beneficial source that has shown the world the horrors that have been occurring in Ukraine. While it is proven to be used for good, the blogger suggests that the platform has also been the posting of videos with misinformation that can be rather detrimental. The blogger stated, “On one hand, it is an incredible insight into what war actually is and looks like, but on the other the social media aspect has led to people faking videos that spread misinformation about what is really going on”. Despite the tumultuous times, TikTok has given those who live in Ukraine a voice. Ukrainians have been able to expose the world to the evil reality of Russia and Vladimir Putin.

[Dalyn Annunziata]

Social media has absolutely changed and taken over the society that we live in today. Everywhere you look there is someone blogging, posting, snapchatting etc. This ease of access to posting, virtually anything you want, can bring a lot of positives and negatives to life. In this article there are a lot of negatives to focus on. With the ongoing political arguments that our society is wrapped in 24/7, there are plenty of words and videos that people post, talking about this topic. Explained in this article, a TikTok posted by an individual in Ukraine, took a video of the skies being bombarded with missiles and just very violent imagery. There was a song over it with very sad lyrics playing. This can establish some sort of intimacy between the publisher and the viewer. This intimacy forces viewers to feel bad for the people in Ukraine but it also can bring a sense of false information. If viewers are only seeing missiles and explosions when they search up Ukraine in TikTok, the citizens of the country will feel horrible. Their country is only being represented in a negative light and receiving loads of pity from foreigners who do not really know the real situation. Misinformation and drama are two huge factors when posting about war on social media. First of all, you are not seeing the full story and seeing violence forces viewers to fill in the blanks and make false assumptions. These false assumptions cause drama and it just leads to a very poor matter.

[Jake]

Kyle Chayka informs readers in the article about the possibility of viewing the Ukrainian war in real time. Social media platforms such as Tik Tok allow people all over the world to be informed of what is going on in Ukraine. I personally have seen many of these tragic videos while scrolling through the app and being in shock. It's incredible how far technology has progressed to the point where soldiers are documenting the war through their own eyes rather than a journalist following them around and capturing shots on a single image. However, I feel the war has become so normal to us that we are overlooking how traumatizing this event is for the people of Ukraine. In previous wars, they have been captured by photographers or televised, but we now have the opportunity to view them 24/7 on our phones while also watching clips of people dancing. Many of the videos are graphic, but Tik Tok has been a great source for showing the devastating effects of war. There has been a spread of misinformation that can sway the thoughts of viewers, but as a whole, it has had many useful effects. Even though these atrocities are occurring daily, Tik Tok has allowed Ukrainians to document what is truly happening to them.

[Sid]

My prayers go out to the people of the Ukraine and all of the groups and organizations helping those directly impacted by the war.