I was following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on TikTok.
And late last night, when feeling depressed, I wrote this piece of crap:
We don’t live in a peaceful world. People go to war with each other.
Innocent lives are wasted while the people in charge send proxies to carry out violent orders. The élite remains safe while non-powerful people pay with their lives. So it goes.
War is disgustingly unfair, but it’s the way the world works.
Love is sometimes all we need. But love falls short when a hostile nation invades your home. You need anti-tank missiles, Nato support, and satellite internet when that happens.
But that’s not what makes me the saddest.
What makes me feel so empty inside is that I used to believe that the internet would forever connect us.
I never thought it would be so easy for a large nation to unplug and allow state propaganda to quickly establish a new narrative. 1“In the 20th century, the English term propaganda was often associated with a manipulative approach, but historically, propaganda has been a neutral descriptive term of any … Continue reading
Spin is one thing. Allowing different views to do their best (or sometimes worst) to convince and persuade is a central democratic principle.
State propaganda, on the other hand, is the language of violence.
I firmly believe that the United Nations should declare internet access and net neutrality human rights. 2“In the Summer of 2016, the United Nations Human Rights Council released a non-binding resolution condemning intentional disruption of internet access by governments.[11] The … Continue reading
More than anything, I was overwhelmed by disappointment. I lived in a world where social media would make it impossible for Russia to invade Ukraine.
I know. It’s ridiculous.
And my bleeding heart is … ridiculous, too.
Ordinary people can speak the truth on social networks for all their worth. But, when push comes to shove, guns speak louder than bits and bytes.
The internet is important, yes. But not as important as power, greed, and legacy. Not as important as the ambitions of an old man in the wrong place.
It’s not a TikTok war.
TikTok is just fucking context.
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Annotations
| 1 | “In the 20th century, the English term propaganda was often associated with a manipulative approach, but historically, propaganda has been a neutral descriptive term of any material that promotes certain opinions or ideologies.” Source: Wikipedia. |
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| 2 | “In the Summer of 2016, the United Nations Human Rights Council released a non-binding resolution condemning intentional disruption of internet access by governments.[11] The resolution reaffirmed that the same rights people have offline must also be protected online.” Source: Wikipedia. |
