Three fronts of digital war. We need “ammo”!

Sometimes I feel that social media is like a shower of sparks — pinching my skin, and only some of the stronger ones going under the skin. Since escalation of Kremlin war against free Ukraine and terror attacks which started unseen scale of cruelty in the morning of February 24, seems like there are at least three fronts on various social media platforms.

First one is direct — Russian propaganda force and some PSYOPS to intimidate with the strength of “unbeatable” tricolor army and its Soviet legacy. There we see failed attempts of victory outside of Russian speaking bubbles. Occupying army looks weak, disorganized and with low morale. Propaganda is unimaginative and flashing out — for those who are used to reading more than one news source..

Second one — fake news and “whataboutism” front where propagandists, disguised as “westerners” try to flush into social media platforms uncertainty and insecurity. In the second front they use trolls and bots to comment on messages spread across different channels, including messenger platforms, which are least visible to observers, yet spread more information where the sources of those messages are unclear or in many cases unknown.

But the third front is the one where we all are failing miserably. That’s the very far line of defense — inside the tech companies HQ and total inability to provide adequate support measures during the times of war.

Just recently Twitter, one of the social media platforms that has been very useful channel to provide information, add visuals and give the context to the event with thread messages, has restricted account of a Ukrainian — Yana Suporovska (Яна Супоровська). Automatic algorithm was triggered by many “bot reports” it seems. A journalist, activist and Ukrainian with 23 thousand readers on twitter lost contact. It took several days and thousands of mentions to twitter support and the company’s CEO to get creators from Kyiv back to the platform. She joined the microblogging platform in 2009.

I have had hundreds of cases during these past months, trying to report fake news, hate speech and symbols on various platforms — Meta’s Facebook and Instagram, Twitter and telegram.. Not much of a success.

Why?

Because automated tools are as weak to understand context and are incapable to translate small languages — like my Latvian, as well (apparently) Ukrainian as five years ago.

As a society, journalists and activists — we are like soldiers with guns, yet empty magazines. There are no “bullets” in our ammo pouches. Platforms are still very, very far from being able to combat disinformation, understanding and evaluating it, and I might suspect that the main reason is similar to the one described years ago in the Godfather of Mario Puzo. CEO’s, CTO’s and others in the lead of social media bubble-machines are not the “wartime consiglieri”.

To beat propaganda we have to be ruthless in the field of combat, yet we need to be knowledgeable. In the summer of 2022 no AI is able to provide the support we as platform users need. And I’m not talking about unbreakable comfort circles where, especially in the Meta’s platforms one is completely unaware of the second opinion — feeling relaxed and avoiding any uncomfortable truths. These platforms were built around such principles and we have been very quiet about this for years.

I’m talking of real support, human helplines and educated responders who can distinguish a request to stop disinformation from a blatant bot attack on the journalist trying to show the truth.

We are unable to give our share of support to Ukraine. Automated “review” messages — where platforms claim that false information does not go against community standards are not helping. It is 100 days too late to make a new standard — and invest in the smart (“guided” if You will) anti-propaganda tools.

Russian war inside social media platforms, or the third frontline is counting on our passive and slow response. Like many governments in Europe “analyze” pros and cons in their decision to send military support, it seems like social media companies are even slower to act and implement levers needed for Ukraine to have victory.

Essay for DCN Global “War in the Digital Age” Hybrid Forum. https://dcnglobal.net/war-in-the-digital-age
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