Social media and monetization in the Ukraine-Russia war

The internet has become a battleground, writes the author of a new article in the Journal of Anthropological Research, and particularly so in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which has been called the first "TikTok war." In "Social Media Warfare: Monetization and Materiality in the Ukrainian Armed Forces Since February 24, 2022," Marcello Fantoni uses ethnographic interviews with former and current members of the Ukrainian military to analyze the role of social media in the conflict, and how social media helps create a "feedback loop" in which combat operations funded by donations incur the need for even more financial support.