Meme Tales: Unraveling the Function of Memes in the Russian-Ukraine Conflict

After a significant escalation of tensions between the two countries, Ukraine found itself at war on February 24, 2022, with the invasion of its borders by the Russian army. This unprecedented conflict in the heart of Europe gave rise to new forms of communication, including memes, which became integral to institutional and public discourse. This study explores the usage of internet memes during the initial stages of Russia’s invasion, analyzing the memes shared on Twitter with the hashtag #Ukraine to gain deeper insights into their role among networked publics. Memes not only served as a chronicle of the conflict but also as personal narratives. Our analysis identified four main purposes for memes: conversational, cathartic, critical, and counter-memes. Each typology exhibited distinct levels of audience engagement and fulfilled different objectives. This research confirms the ongoing trend of employing memes as a means to discuss public events and actively involve users and institutions in public debates. Moreover, our study emphasizes the role of emotions in communication and proposes an original approach to operationalizing internet memes, contributing to the advancement of understanding in this domain.