Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
World
Kate Linthicum

War in real time: TikTok and Twitter stars document Russia's war in Ukraine

A snowy sidewalk strewn with bloodied bodies. A beleaguered president roaming the streets of a country under attack. Missiles streaming. Sirens wailing. Teens making homemade bombs. And dead soldiers, so many of them, lying crumpled in fields and slumped in smoldering tanks.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has spawned a constant stream of online content, a deluge of audio-visuals that has countered Moscow's disinformation campaign, spurred global leaders to action and helped, as they have in other recent conflicts in Syria and Ethiopia, change the way we see and understand war.

The bombings and violence in cities like Mariupol, Kharkiv and Kyiv feature a cast of newly minted stars — social media standouts who rely on satire, grit and an insider's sensibilities to document the horrors for a global audience.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.