Beyond Verification| Ambient Propaganda: Tuning-in to WarTok During Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine

Abstract

This article examines the phenomenon of apparently grassroots, K’remlin-supporting TikTokers in the early days following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. We analyze how they tune-in to the platform’s personalized algorithm as well as to the prevalent mood of neo-imperialist aggression and resentment in Russian politics and society. We develop and employ the concept of ambient propaganda through a case study of a TikTok content creator who aligns herself with the Russian military symbol “Z.” In dialogue with recent and classic scholarship on the relationship between ideology and subjectivity, we theorize the persistence of propaganda in media environments where the difference between influencer culture and propagandistic messaging blurs. As contemporary conceptualizations of power have grown increasingly decentralized, we argue for a multidirectional conception of propaganda as being driven by intricate processes of attunement and synchronization, the analysis of which is not served by classic notions of authenticity and intentionality.