Developed by: Chrissy (Stuessel)
Entertainment?
Sometimes you have to ask yourself, how does a random app blow up out of nowhere? TikTok was first created and known as Musical.ly. Musical.ly, a short video format that was primarily dancing. In time, a company bought out Musical.ly, and it became what it is today--an application built for war.
CREDIT:
When you think about TikTok, is it something to be entertained by? You do not expect to put in any work while viewing. Mostly likely you don't expect be persuaded by the content you see either, but that's exactly what the application does. It works to persuade you.
CREDIT: TheNewYorker.com
--Shaky Footage + Misinformation
When a platform is created for quick media, users can be taken advantage of. In the first attacks on Ukraine from Russia, social media was quickly flooded with videos. Audio clips from old videos or video games and outdated video segments were pieced together to present misinformation.
-- 5 million videos per hour
TikTok uploads about 5 million videos per hour. Videos are screened for content that is misleading or breaking the community guidelines; however, the program is not perfect. TikTok was overwhelmed with misinformation and shaky footage of the aftermath of Russian missile attacks. Not all videos were fact-checked, and potentially millions of viewers saw the content within minutes of being uploaded.
CREDIT: Poynter.org
The purpose of the TikTok algorithm is to feed people with videos they have an certain appetite for. In an eight day time span,
-- Propaganda
Propaganda news outlets hope to pull on your heartstrings. For example, a TikTok video posted and re-shared on Twitter received up to 26 million views, and it was a first glimpse on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Fact-checkers found that the video actually dated back to 2015 and was originally posted on Instagram. In the video, you can see a soldier in military fatigue and coasting down to the grain fields.
CREDIT: Recruiters.com
Flores-Saviaga, Ph. D. candidate in the Citizen AI Lab at Northeastern University had this to say.
“Social media is being weaponized, that includes dis- or misinformation, designed either to intimidate or to profit from the enormous appetite for war content.” WIRED
Upset/Checking Sources
With mis-information and polarizing content you have to ask yourself, are you okay with that. If you’re upset by the reality of the situation, you’re not alone. Some of the biggest names in Russia have spoken out against the war. The daughter of Dmitry Peskov, Vladimir Putin’s press secretary said, “no to war.” However, she deleted it quickly after it posted. If anything is to learn from this war, it seems to be, check your sources and make sure what you’re reading is factual information without a narrative. It can be difficult to skim through information, but stick to trusted sources and compare and contrast content.
Newest Updates of the War
March 18, 2022, 7:32 AM CDT
What are the newest updates of the war? The United States is worried that China is dabbling in the idea of joining Russia in Ukraine. Cyber-attacks are modern warfare and show the trajectory of the war. Russia has been quite effective in the past with their cyber-attacks. However, Russian cyber-attacks have struggled so far to successfully disrupt Ukrainian systems.
"Before, Ukraine has been targeted by many denial-of-service attacks, which are of low sophistication and impact,” said BLOOMBERG.
U.S. President Biden stated:
"We have purposefully designed these sanctions to maximize the long-term impact on Russia and to minimize the impact on the United States and our Allies."
CREDIT: NewYorkTimes.com
He continued by saying...
"Twenty-seven members of the European Union, including France, Germany, Italy — as well as the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and many others — to amplify the joint impact of our response."
FULL BRIEFING HERE: NBC NEWS
CREDIT: Economist.com
--China
Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said on MSNBC, BLOOMBERG, If Xi, “wants to be a true leader on the world stage, he will side with Ukraine and the U.S."
Through Wang Huiyao, President of the Center for China and Globalization, China has been advised, “Conflict is not a solution, and China doesn’t want to see things deteriorate.”
The Chinese government has been almost passive with their response. Some of the public is suspicious because they fear there is a chance that China will use similar force to take Taiwan back into its government control in the near future. This is because they have had an ongoing political issue between the two states of government and self establishment.
--Carnage
Like most war, carnage is a determining factor of how the war will end. Until enough Russians have died or are suffering or the economy collapses, the invasion will continue. It more than likely will come down to more Russian deaths over Ukrainians, but no human can predict the future. I hope to see peace come to this world before my death, but time will tell.