Making sense of Ukrainian war memes: From watermelons to Saint Javelin

[Emrys]

“Breaking: This lettuce outlasts Russian annexation of Kherson,” reads a meme posted a few hours after Russia announced its retreat from the city of Kherson.

This is a remake of a joke about the former U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss, whose short term in power was compared to "the shelf life of a lettuce."

Link to tweet

Saint Javelin
@saintjavelin

Ukrainians have created a trove of war-related memes since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion on Feb. 24. They have become a part of modern folklore – like songs and poetry, memes help Ukrainians express what they feel in simple metaphorical language.

There are other benefits to memes: They can offer some relief from the traumatic experiences of the war. They can also keep people engaged and informed, according to Christian Borys, creator of the popular Saint Javelin meme. The image depicts Virgin Mary cradling a U.S.-made FGM-148 anti-tank weapon used in Ukraine.

Most people don't read long articles about the war, Borys said, but they scroll through Instagram or Twitter every day, and the memes they see there give them an idea of what's happening in Ukraine.

https://kyivindependent.com/national/making-sense-of-ukrainian-memes-from-watermelons-to-saint-javelin

The importance of Ukraine's deft use of online propaganda during this war shouldn't be underestimated. It can humanize reactions without trivializing them, and humour and satire are more relatable and more likely to go viral than polemic.

[PortTack]

1. There are multiple uploads daily on TikTok of what's going on including President Zelensky's

Nightly Address to the Ukrainians and the world. It’s masterful what their doing.

Pre war President Zelensky’s party’s popularity was in the low 20s. Following the invasion it soared into the high 80s and continues to stay high.

[Marcuse]

2. They produce those YouTube channels with pro Ukraine narration over military b-roll and music?

[Emrys]

3. That's really the least of it, and probably less effective than the memes the article discusses,

which appear on a wide variety of platforms, not least Twitter.

The article doesn't focus so much on Ukrainian state propaganda, but rather that produced by enthusiasts of various descriptions. Some may be produced by arms of the state, but on the whole, these things have taken on a life of their own.