A Warning To Pro-Ukraine Media: Don't Mock Your Friends; You Need Them On Your Side
Popular Ukraine sympathetic media platforms need to cut back on the mockery of the often out-of-touch American leadership. The enemy is Russia, not the United States.
Summary: Many influential pro Ukrainian media sites have diversified from targeting the aggressor nation Russia with mockery and ridicule to their most influential, albeit chaotic, ally - the United States. They do so at the risk of alienating an already complicated support base and turning would-be-friends into disgusted social enemies of Ukraine. This strategic mistake must be righted if Ukrainians want to win the hearts of Americans and the new U.S. President Donald Trump ahead of his next four years in office.
There is a large and vocal pro Ukraine social media presence. From individuals to popular group forums, the movement’s goal has been to combat the massive Russian information war that justifies its conquest of Ukraine, as well as defend the Ukrainian cause of freedom while showing the world the hope, courage, and unity coming from Ukrainians.
All things considered, this unorganized grass roots effort inspired by a genuine love of Ukrainians for their country and its freedom has been successful. The opposite side of this of course is the deafening hoard of Russian invasion sympathizers, justifiers, bots, and trolls.
These pro Ukraine sites have used zippy humor and poignant memes to point out the simultaneously ridiculous and evil way that Russia operates, both in the political sphere and in its prosecution of its war on Ukraine. For every Russian general or official who has been unceremoniously removed by Moscow by falling out of a window, choking to death in his hotel room, or just disappearing into thin air, there has been an ironic Ukrainian meme for it.
It’s not all funny though; one moment it’s jokes about Russian troops not being able to understand Ukrainian or North Korean soldiers getting hooked on pornography, but the next moment it’s the latest daily missile attack on Ukrainian civilians, or Russian torture chambers, or desperate calls for American and European Allies to recognize the thousands of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia.
A Strategic Miscalculation
Since the U.S. election cycle in 2024, there has been a shift across the pro Ukraine social media sites. They have moved away from merely combating the Russian information machine and have started going after those in the Republican Trump circle. It started with rebuttals of obviously uniformed or naive comments from Trump or those around him, and it has now transitioned into all out mockery and derision of the new President of the United States.
Many in the pro Ukraine media space came to associate Joe Biden and the Democrats with a pro Ukraine stance, and therefore Trump, his circle, and the Republicans as generally unsupportive of Ukraine. This was a grave error and a misread of the complicated nature of the American political situation. The Republicans’ preoccupation with the very real domestic issues in America was maddening to Ukrainians who felt deserted and could not understand why Americans did not recognize the gravity of the situation in Europe.
To make matters worse, the combination of naïveté by Trump’s team on the true nature of the war, the absurdity of comments made about the war by Trump himself, as well as people supporting Trump floating Russian lies as truth (Tucker Carlson to name one) left Ukrainians feeling frustrated and angry.
The strategic mistake is when, instead of dismantling the ill founded arguments of your allies, you target the individuals themselves for ridicule. It is better to leave that to the Russian bots.
Take the High Ground
It is one thing to go after the butchers in Moscow this way when they are actively bombing you. It is another when it is a friend and an ally whom Ukraine desperately needs as a partner. I’m not talking about suppressing free speech or abstaining from calling out lies and foolishness in our leaders. That is actually a duty in a free democratic society. I’m talking about being strategic and trying to win the hearts of the new Republican leadership. To do that Ukraine must maintain the high ground. They cannot make the mistake Democrats made by torching Trump hoping to get rid of him, only to alienate the vast undecided American voting base, thus bringing him back stronger than ever. For all of Trump’s weaknesses, he has many strengths, and he can be influenced, and that is what Ukrainians want and need: to influence Trump and win him over.
Our Words Matter
I have watched the mockery become more and more prevalent over the last several months, but decided to comment on this now after the deluge of memes about Elon Musk’s poorly constructed gesture to the cheering crowd after Trump’s inauguration on Monday. The pro Ukraine freedom people, of which I am one, do not have to love or like Elon Musk. He has said some unfortunate things about Russia’s war, but he, like Trump, is influenceable and is an important ally to have. Calling Musk a Nazi, which is what happened this week, or drawing parallels between Nazis and Musk is the very last thing you want to do when you are trying to win someone over. Especially when there are Russians on Ukrainian soil killing men, woman, and children, torturing and executing POWs, and leveling cities like actual Nazis.
This isn’t about just hurting Musk’s or Trump’s feelings either, it’s more about how everyday Americans view the pro Ukrainian victory side. Generally Americans are very supportive of Ukraine. They are largely uniformed about the details of the war, but they are sympathetic to the Ukrainian cause. That sympathy changes when every time Instagram or X is opened, the first thing to pop up is Ukrainians calling the U.S. President and those close to him Nazis and dictators. Putin is the dictator, not the elected President of the United States, and Musk is not a Nazi.
It may seem like a small thing, but it’s actually a very important piece to the puzzle. Social media plays a very influential role in how people and events are perceived. For many in the United States, it is the only connection point with Europeans, Ukraine included. Russia knows this, and they have played on the weaknesses of Americans on social platforms for years and to great effect. Russian media has attempted to show Ukrainians as both weak and pathetic, as well as sinister and meddling. It is a core part of the invasion playbook.
An American who is fed up with the policies of the Biden administration and wrongly associates the chaos of Biden’s term in office with Ukraine, even in some vague way, responds with disgust when they see mockery of the Trump administration coming from Ukrainian circles.
Persuasion Is The Goal In 2025
Ukrainians need to continue to exemplify the freedom and dignity they are fighting for. It is, after all, in stark contrast to the darkness Russia is projecting. Ukrainians need to be the grown ups in the room. They need to maintain the high ground, both ethically as they fight for their freedom on the battlefield, and socially as they seek to secure lasting ties with Europe and the United States. Zelensky has led the charge with this: He is measured, firm, and reasonable, while not suffering fools. He knows that it is both the American people as well as their elected officials that Ukraine needs on their side.
Social media is its own theater of operation in this fight. The war rages; there are intense pressures on Ukraine, maybe more now than at any time in the last three years; but using persuasion to win the hearts and friendship of the American people needs to be the priority for Ukrainians who seek a lasting relationship with the United States and victory over Russian aggression.
Very well said.
Too many people misunderstood when Trump ran for President he had to say things before he knew the facts.
Now that he is President, it is time to seek his help against Putin.
Wayne
horde, not hoard.