Showing all posts tagged: Ukraine
Twitter bots surge following Russian invasion of Ukraine
31 March 2022
Tim Graham, senior lecturer in digital media at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) Digital Media Research Centre, has detected a significant surge in Twitter bots, being automated accounts on the social networking service, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine last month. It seems the purpose of many of these bots is to boost, or amplify, other Twitter accounts that are disseminating propaganda supporting the Russian invasion.
The massive spike around February 24, the day of the invasion, indicated some were probably bots, but was not conclusive. Next, Dr Graham deployed a specialised software called Botometer, which uses a machine-learning algorithm to distinguish bot accounts from human ones by looking at the features of a profile, including friends, social network structure, language, and sentiment. The model gives accounts a score from zero to one, with one showing it’s certain the account is a bot. “When we ran this model and checked the result, there was clearly this huge spike of accounts which had almost a perfect bot score,” Dr Graham said.
Twitter remains unconvinced by Graham’s work though, suggesting aspects of his research may be flawed, and asserting they have more information at their disposal in assessing whether or not accounts are automated or genuine.
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From Anastasiia Lapatina in Mariupol, Ukraine
22 March 2022
Tweets don’t get much more poignant than this one from Anastasiia Lapatina, a journalist with The Kyiv Independent, who’s currently in Mariupol, Ukraine.
I am sure I will die soon. It is a matter of a few days. In this city, everyone is constantly waiting for death. I just want it not to be too scary. – testimony of a woman in #Mariupol
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The first casualty when war comes is truth
8 March 2022
Twenty-five year old Oleksandra lives in Kharkiv, a city in Ukraine, about thirty kilometres from the Russian border. Her parents live in Russia, but so far Oleksandra has failed to convince them of the danger the Russian invasion of Ukraine poses to her, and Kharkiv.
“My parents understand that some military action is happening here. But they say: ‘Russians came to liberate you. They won’t ruin anything, they won’t touch you. They’re only targeting military bases’.” While we were interviewing Oleksandra, the shelling went on. The internet connection was weak, so we had to exchange voice messages. “I’ve almost forgotten what silence sounds like. They’re shelling non-stop,” she said.
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Release of The Batman, and other films, delayed in Russia
4 March 2022
Turning Red, The Batman, Morbius, The Lost City, and Sonic the Hedgehog 2, are among films whose releases are being delayed in Russia, in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
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Why is Russia invading Ukraine?
3 March 2022
An informative overview of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, from the people at Real Life Lore, and an attempt to answer the question: why is Russia invading Ukraine? There’s a slew of issues here, historical, economic, and cultural, meaning there’s no simple answer. This video was made over a week ago, so some of the information presented may have changed.
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Understanding Ukraine and Russia, some suggested reading
2 March 2022
For anyone interested in reading more about the present situation in Ukraine, Serhii Plokhii, Professor of Ukrainian History at Harvard University, recommends five books that explore the history, and relationship, between Ukraine and Russia.
It is a situation that probably could be recognized anywhere in the world — because what we see is the process of disintegration of one of the last world empires. The Russian Empire started to fall apart when the Austro-Hungarian, the Ottoman and other empires were falling apart. The Bolsheviks held it together, but it still fell apart in 1991, almost overnight. Everyone was surprised. It was a miracle that there was no major war or bloodshed. Now we realize that the war was just postponed.
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A few ways to help the people of Ukraine
26 February 2022
The invasion in Ukraine is upsetting and unsettling. Even though some of us may be at a great distance from the hostilities, there are still things we can do to assist. Mateo Szlapek-Sewillo, of Simple Speaker, has put together a list of suggestions.
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