Technology, social networks and war have become obligatory companions. Long before the war in Ukraine that we are currently experiencing, this relationship was destined to be practically unbreakable. The latest example is Google’s decision to disable traffic features in Google Maps amid Russia’s invasion of the country. He has made this decision to protect the population that lives the invasion of Russia. Specifically, the technology has decided to stop showing data such as delays in traffic or the influx of a store because some people were using that data to track the movements of military and civilians.
It’s a Maps utility that some discovered in the context of the Ukraine war. In fact, an expert Open Source Intelligence (OSINT), the open source intelligence, recently explained on Twitter how he had been one of the first people to notice the invasion by Russia. “I think we were the first people to see the invasion. And we saw it on a traffic app,” she told motherboard expert Jerry Lewis.
The use of information from social networks in wars or conflicts is not new. It is a vital tool for investigators and journalists and even exists to the concept of OSINT. It is more than institutionalized. Normally, the information that can be obtained from social networks -open source- is usually combined with other sources of information so that it is completely reliable.
The real job is to analyze the data
Jesús Manuel Pérez Triana, author of Postmodern Warsexplains to hypertextual that technology plays a fundamental role in obtaining intelligence and strategic decisions on the battlefield. “Syria was the first conflict where we really saw it all,” he notes. However, it now seems to have a bigger impact because It is the first time in a long time that we have not experienced a war so close. “This is the first war in Europe where we have seen this impact but the technology genie came out of the bottle a long time ago.”
Not only Google, every day thousands of tweets, photographs and all kinds of publications are published on social networks that serve as a kind of intelligence service for the enormous information they provide.
“The data is open and all the information is mixed. The real job of intelligence is to search for it, order it, find coherence, validate it, interpret it.”
Jesus Manuel Perez Triana
This point is one of the most important, because it is not enough to see information that a platform like Google can provide us. Benjamin Strick, chief information officer at the Center for Information Resilience said to BBC Although these data are very useful they do not give us a complete picture of what is happening. “Sometimes that can be a bit risky for misinterpretation,” she warns.
That is why it is necessary that, in the context of the war in Ukraine, the thousands of available data be verified. These are, in the end, one more information tool, although a very important one. Somehow, a large part of information has been democratized, which is not only used by intelligence services. On the other hand, both journalists and researchers can use it for their own analysis.
If a person knows where to look and what to look for, he is able to analyze, also thanks to artificial intelligence algorithms, a large amount of data that can show the other side of the coin. War is no longer something we only see on televisionIt happens before the eyes of all of us. And practically no filters.
Disinformation, also in the Ukraine war
It has never been so easy to have information about what is happening in the world; now, in the Ukraine war. Journalists, users and even authorities publish the latest news almost daily. On the one hand, this is a way to fight misinformation. Especially if the people posting it are on-site and show “evidence” about the conflict.
But you have to put that word in quotes because, unfortunately, the millions of news items, photos and videos that circulate daily on social networks are also used for precisely the opposite.
For few it is a surprise, and less if we include the Russian measures to encourage disinformationa strategy that came to light in great detail in the 2016 United States elections. Last Sunday, Facebook announced that it had managed to stop a fake news campaign from Russia, as well as several attempts to hack the military and Ukrainian journalists.
Information from social networks can be a great “spy” in a situation like the war in Ukraine to obtain information, although sometimes it is like finding a needle in a haystack full of fake news or suspicious. That is why the work of organizations such as bellingcatby Eliot Higgins, to have false information verified and debunked.
The flip side of deleting channels and profiles
Beyond access to information and in the midst of disinformation campaigns, platforms thousands of posts deleted daily. This point also opens a debate on the elimination of channels or publications for violating the platform’s rules. In the context of Open Source Intelligence (OSINT), the elimination of these sources of information has a negative effect on the investigation.
Jesús Manuel Pérez Triana gives as an example when Telegram eliminated channels linked to Islamic State sympathizers. On the one hand, it was a necessary measure because they caused harm to society and some people were becoming radicalized through these channels. However, some analysts regretted the decision because they had lost a very valuable source of information on the group’s strategies.
Social networks are in favor of Ukraine
Digital platforms are very present in the war in Ukraine. The social media expert María García-Quitana believes that even have positioned themselves against Russia and they are doing everything in their power to stop the invasion. For example, Russia’s veto of Russian sites and their funding through advertisements. “Both Twitter and Meta have said that they will favor everything that is launching news against Russia and in favor of the communities that are being created to help people in Ukraine. The networks here have positioned themselves,” he points out. hypertextual.
All kinds of initiatives are also being born to help Ukrainians, such as cryptocurrency campaigns or pages to promote humanitarian aid. On social networks, everything turns into information about the war in Ukraine, which, on the one hand, is used to help affected people. For other, as an intelligence weapon that can bring to light information that until then was kept secret.