Pratiche creative e propaganda transmediale al tempo della guerra ibrida: il caso Ghost of Kyiv = Creative practices and transmedia propaganda at the time of hybrid warfare: the Ghost of Kyiv case

Abstract

This paper delves into the analysis of an emblematic case of communication pertaining to the recent war in Ukraine, namely the Ghost of Kyiv: a Ukrainian fighter pilot who, according to reconstructions, reportedly shot down six Russian planes in the early stages of the conflict. This figure appears functional to Ukrainian propaganda, also and especially through participatory dynamics generated on social media. The work was set up using an ecological approach to the study of media, in order to interpret the phenomena generated in the process of hybridisation of the media system. The study is based on a transmedia process, applying the model of the creative chain, i.e. the co-creative practices that develop on the platforms were investigated. In this way, the creative and participatory capacity of individuals is highlighted, who, by inserting themselves into a public discourse, add content linked by semantic connectors such as hashtags (#ghostofkyiv). This expands shared transmedia narratives that also respond to the logic of social media, bringing stories to the fore and enhancing their spreadability. The analysis was designed using digital methods, identifying Twitter as the mothership of the narrative, search keys were set according to the characteristics of the platform (hashtags, keywords, accounts, etc.) in reference to the topic, extracting and analysing 52,944 tweets from 24/02 to 10/03/2022. Among the findings, a transmedia dimension of propaganda emerges, where the participatory worldbuilding process hybridises different imageries generating narrative and communicative lines (information, emotionality, spreadability). Moreover, bottom-up co-creation practices feed the propaganda narrative, users, in this way, can take an active role in hybrid warfare.