Counter-claims on social media over ‘loss’ of Patriot missile battery in Ukraine

In the early hours of Tuesday morning, a US-made MIM-104 Patriot surface-to-air missile (SAM) was reportedly damaged during a Russian missile attack near Ukraine’s capital Kiev. Moscow claimed the battery was destroyed, but US officials said the damage was minor.

According to CNN, while the system is still operational, the Patriot’s radar component, one of its most critical elements, was not damaged. US officials further stated that they did not believe that the Patriot would need to be removed from the battlefield for repairs. Military experts have suggested that destroying a Patriot would require many components to be removed. Unlike platforms such as the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), the MIM-104 Patriot consists of more than one vehicle or launcher.

The Patriot – Phased Array Tracking Radar for Target Interception – is considered one of the most advanced air defense systems in operation. It was first used in the 1991 Gulf War, and the battery was used to defend Saudi Arabia and Israel.

counter claim on social media

On Tuesday, the Russian Defense Ministry posted on the Telegram social messaging platform that a “high-precision strike by the Kinzhal hypersonic missile system hit the US-made Patriot air defense system in Kiev.”

The Kremlin also touted the capabilities of its Kinzhal and suggested that the missile is impenetrable to Patriot air defense systems.

In contrast, Kiev also took to social media on Tuesday to claim it had shot down six of the Russian hypersonic missiles – something military analysts have suggested could be seen as a major blow to Moscow. which went to great lengths to develop the platform.

Kiev’s claims have not been independently verified. Furthermore, the reports of the two belligerents greatly contradict the claims of the other side. One concern may be that some traditional media outlets have been too quick to report without verifying facts created through social platforms.

“As always, we need to rely on institutions that hold journalistic standards high, that source information from many places, that do not run first drafts when they are not corroborated, and that allow themselves to be a tool. into the hands of the propaganda machines,” warned Amy Bonbright, assistant professor of journalism in the School of Communication and Digital Content at Liberty University.

“In 2023, we are fortunate to have several legacy media doing reliable, accurate reporting to help us understand whether information is true or not. And usually, the truth is found somewhere in the middle of the two extremes is,” said Bonbright.

first crash actually

In wartime, such exaggeration by combatants is common, of course, but what is notable is that after Tuesday’s airstrikes on Kiev, there was a wave of commentary on social media. Several pro-Russian accounts on Twitter attempted to support the narrative that the Patriot had been destroyed – while pro-Ukrainian accounts protested, explaining the difficulty of targeting such a multi-component battery.

This is not the first time that campaigners have been so vocal on social media platforms, but it is unique in that both sides are making claims about the same incident.

“As long as there have been media, there have been prominent voices who have shaped official messages in times of crisis, including war,” explains Dr. Aram Sinreich, chair of the Department of Communication Studies at American University.

“In the mass media age, there were voices to push a political agenda, and we saw this with talk radio and cable news, where partisan voices tread water over the interests of the state,” Sinrich said.

This certainly continues on Russian state TV, where propagandists talk almost nightly about the state of war in Ukraine. Although social media is playing a huge role today, it is very difficult to identify individual voices.

“It’s not that easy to identify people with 10,000 or 20,000 followers on social media,” Sinrich said.

Still, the volume of content remains high, so even if some of these voices do not have a significant number of followers, the content is amplified. This is the reason why ‘Patriot’ was the top trending topic on Twitter on Wednesday.

“There is now a whole network of influencers on social media platforms, who are acting as distributed proxy voices for state actors,” Sinrich added. “We see that there is also a feedback loop now, so trending topics become dominant narratives.”

A proxy war of voices

Proxy voices on social media are serving as unofficial propaganda tools for each side, but it is probably Russia that is gaining the most – as it is cracking down on content that doesn’t toe the official line .

“Perception is especially important in the war in Ukraine, and Russia has shown that it is much better at spreading propaganda than actually waging war on the ground. They have a lot of people pouring water for them on Twitter and Instagram. Ready to go.” Sinrich said.

He said it is part of the Digital Cold War, where the internet is increasingly being used to spread misinformation, monitor citizens and hack foreign interests.

“Russia is employing all three even before the war started,” Sinrich said. “It is not unique to this war, but it is part of a wider constellation of Russian operations.”