Reframing the Narratives of War: A guide for talking about the war on Ukraine
By Emily Duffy
During times of war, most of us experience feelings of fear and anger, as well as feelings of solidarity and compassion. Both sets of feelings, and the values they evoke, are natural human reactions to a threat to our security. Human beings are capable of having multiple mixed feelings at the same time.
What we choose to act on, however, is often decided in relation to those around us. In simple terms, we talk it out with our loved ones and communities. If we meet frames of solidarity and compassion, we will become more helpful and kind. But, if we meet frames of fear and anger, we are more likely to become unwelcoming, and support violence, closed borders and military action as a means of staying secure.
Social media giants feed on our emotions for profit, creating an increasingly polarised world. That means that there is a serious danger that social media algorithms will send us content that makes us more afraid and angry. Why? Because this makes us more likely to click, comment, share and engage. Our engagement produces profit for social media companies, who sell our attention to advertisers for profit.
Conversations and emotional reactions that once took place in the relative privacy and safety of our own homes and which allowed for nuance and making mistakes, are now taking place on social platforms that, according to research by the University of Michigan, ‘recognize, infer, and harvest emotions’ from our online conversations and behaviour.
This is why, as social media users, we must be deliberate in the language we use to frame the war on Ukraine. The more we reinforce the values of solidarity, welcome and compassion - the more the people we interact with on social media will also connect to those emotions.
How can we use language framing to invoke values?
We assume that people have set and defined political leanings. We often talk of ‘traditionalists’ or ‘conservatives’ as if the majority of people self-identify into those groups and therefore only ever act out of a particular set of fixed values. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Most research shows that instead, people actually hold a range of conflicting values at the same time – and that these values get activated when we hear and digest messages from the outside world.
Values map including value groups. Source
This means that the part of an issue we choose to frame is massively important. If we focus solely on the politics of geopolitical power plays, whilst ignoring human suffering, resilience and solidarity - we will activate and strengthen security frames that will make people more likely to act selfishly and out of fear.
However, if we focus on how people have shown incredible humanity throughout this war - then we instead reinforce those values systems. Values are like a see-saw as one goes up the other comes down - which is why being deliberate about the part if an issue we choose to focus on is so important.
Using language framing to dismantle racist values systems
It’s heartening to see the massive outcry of support for people fleeing Ukraine across Europe. But it is also bittersweet for many people who have been seeking safety in Europe, only to be met with closed borders and racism for decades.
Indeed, how can people in Europe demonstrate such welcome for those fleeing Ukraine, whilst ignoring and even violently opposing people fleeing wars on the African continent and the Middle East? People develop racist belief systems about the world because we are taught to see our countries and continents as ethnic containers. The language we use every day reinforces this. How many times have people fleeing Ukraine been referred to as special and different from other people seeking refuge because they are ‘our neighbours’ or because ‘they look like us’?
We need to be able to talk about this, to call out fortress Europe and white supremacy, whilst still giving uncompromising support to all people fleeing Ukraine. We must reinforce that the solidarity and welcome extended to people escaping Ukraine demonstrates that politicians are capable of leaning into their values and leading with their hearts, when they choose to. This is an opportunity to create a Europe that is welcoming to everyone who comes in search of safety.
Engaging with Misinformation
It’s important to remember that we are not only dealing with social media giants like Meta manipulating our emotions for profit. We are also being targeted by sophisticated Kremlin propaganda - which actively seeks people in the west to engage in and share propaganda.
According to Agence-France-Presse, many covid conspiracy theorists and anti-vaxx groups and influencers have now shifted to spreading Kremlin propaganda and are framing the war from a pro-Putin standpoint with their followers.
"Whether it's vaccines or masks, there is always something that will trigger people who can be easily manipulated and are distrustful of traditional information."
It is important that we don’t get into geopolitical arguments with these people. Putin wants the conversation to be about ‘The West’ vs ‘Russia’ - separating people into binary camps and neat ethnic and political containers. In truth, Putin does not represent Russia, and whether we live in Russia, Ukraine or ‘The West’ - most people want to live in peace, respect others and live dignified lives.
Putin will use online trolls, conspiracy theorists and propagandists to spread his ideas. We need to refuse to debate on this pitch, and instead continue to lead with our values, that ordinary people across the world should live free from war and authoritarianism, and that everyone deserves to live in freedom, safety and dignity, and that we should welcome all those fleeing war.
