Everything the war in Ukraine taught us about communication
We wish it was merely a theoretical training, but sadly, we get to learn about violence, information, and misinformation first-hand, as Putin’s barbaric invasion of Ukraine happens, not only on muddy fields of Eastern Europe, but also online.?
In the past two weeks marketers first froze like a deer in headlights, only to intentionally make space later for the relevant communication that provided help to the refugees and information for the rest of us - you might have noticed the absence of our weekly marketing news summary last week. Here is a recap of how these tragic events are going to be a game changer for the world of communication.
Deepfake and Russian misinformation
You have probably seen the footage of Vladimir Putin’s hand passing like a creepy specter through a microphone at a press conference . For many it was a sign: the conference was staged and it’s all green screen, smoke and mirrors.?
The glitch in the footage (from a real press conference) was a consequence of a faulty image rendering, but it revealed how sensitive the viewers got when it comes to fake news - which is a good thing.?
Last month a research paper was published, according to which, humans can no longer distinguish between an AI-generated face and that of a real person. It’s an important information for propagandists, as Russia launches massive disinformation campaigns using AI-generated images:
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The reaction to misinformation is visible. In Poland a troll-reporting website was launched - https://zglostrolla.pl/ (“report a troll”). The project is a brainchild of an Internet monitoring tool Brand24, a marketing agency Nieagencja, and a hosting provider Zenbox. Meanwhile the Ukrainian government is warning against possible deepfakes of president Zelensky announcing capitulation. (Our recommendation: Volodymyr Zelensky should grow a beard, as deepfake tech is bad ad handling facial hair)
The misinformation campaign has been launched on a full-scale also for Russia’s citizens. According to the authorities, what is happening in Ukraine is not a war, but a “special operation”. Whoever thinks otherwise (or calls for the end of the war, or backs sanctions), can ponder this while serving a 15-year sentence, due to a new law just passed in Russia.?
The digital wall rises high between Russia and the rest of the world, as media outlets get banned, western streaming platforms withdraw from the Russian market, and Russia plunges into a digital isolation.
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Crypto community supports Ukraine
The Ukrainian government called for support of the crypto community, and as a result, raised over $54 million indonations, a third of which was spent on personal military equipment for their soldiers.?
Meanwhile, Mykhailo Fedorov, the Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine, appealed to most of the crypto exchanges to freeze Russian assets. He was met with a refusal. According to the exchanges such a move would, as Binance founder, Changpeng Zhao said:? “fly in the face of the reason why crypto exists” and hurt regular Russian citizens.?
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For crypto exchanges this refusal may however, result in disconnection from the financial services, as banks will be required to have a closer look at their clients’ activities. To make it clearer - crypto exchanges will have to comply with sanctions, because the banks they work with will have to comply with sanctions. It’s pretty clear that Russian oligarchs shouldn’t be too rush with bitcoin purchases.?
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Talking about crypto - NFTs are in the game too
Vladimir Klitschko, an ex-boxer, a brother of Vitaliy Klitschko, a boxer-turned-mayor-of-Kyiv, is issuing NFTs to finance the Ukrainian Red Cross and UNICEF. Klitschko is launching an NFT collection “Vandalz '' in cooperation with an artist WhIsB. If you have between $100 and $10000 in your pocket, go and check the NFT marketplace OpenSea within the next 3 weeks!?
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Fashion vs war - dos and don'ts
“In a time like this, fashion loses its relevance and its actual right to exist.” says Balenciaga’s Demna Gvasalia, a Georgian-born fashion designer and creative director. The fashion industry seems like it doesn’t exactly know how to behave in the face of this great tragedy. Paris Fashion week that began just 4 days after the invasion, ignored the current events at first.?Balenciaga was the first high-fashion brand who decided to acknowledge what is going on. In its fashion show the models had to wade through snow, against a blizzard. This was supposed to pay tribute to Ukraine and reflect on Demna’s own refugee memories, but raised eyebrows and evoked mixed feelings instead. It’s definitely much more talked about than the donation of an undisclosed amount Balenciaga made to the World Food Programme. To be fair, many luxury brands followed Balenciaga’s example. LVMH and Kering Group decided to donate substantial amounts for humanitarian purposes.
Surprisingly, the world of fast fashion rose to the challenge. Polish giant LPP donated over PLN 1 million to humanitarian aid and another PLN 100 000 in vouchers directly to the refugees who often had to flee with just a backpack. To date, Russians have had to say do svidaniya to over 100 luxury fashion brands, as well as to the most popular ones: H&M, Inditex brands, Adidas, to name just a few.?
And what about fashion influencers? They never fail to disappoint - Many seem to think that #stopwarinukraine is some kind of a competition for the most photogenic yellow and blue outfit.