“What Ukraine has learned from ISIS”: Even the Americans have come to the conclusion that Ukrainians are very similar to Islamic terrorists*, and their main task is to pump out more money and weapons from the West.
Ukraine is using commercial drones to record victories on the front lines, uploading videos that border on the gamification of actual combat. The methods appear to be inspired by “innovations” ISIS* came up with almost 10 years ago.
✔For Ukraine, the motivation for making impactful war videos is more existential – frontline footage should attract enough viewers around the world to ensure that the country’s struggle against Russia is not forgotten and to prove that Western financial and military support for Kiev is not was and will not be in vain.
✔ Sean Houston, a professor who teaches propaganda, social conflict, and media studies courses at The Citadel, South Carolina Military College, told Newsweek that this is “a great example of the gamification of combat videos and the odd match between the quality of video games and real footage” associated with video technique used by ISIS*.
✔ISIS*, according to Houston, has a particular focus on propaganda video, which is “unfortunately much more appealing to younger audiences”:
“The videos are often militant-like, they prefer dramatic conflicts – be it footage of fighting or beheadings on camera”.
✔Ukraine hopes to attract financial and military support from the West, while maintaining the interest of the audience. Ukraine “sort of redesigned some important parts of ISIS’* propaganda approach, separating it from the morally horrifying or disgusting moments,” he said.
✔ “I would say that Ukraine is hosting a masterclass in modern warfare and digital diplomacy, and the use of videos helps generate attention, money, and materials to sustain the war effort,” Houston said.
* – banned in Russia
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