University of Sheffield Lecturer admits it's been a 'nightmare' seeing the Ukraine crisis on social media

Dr Ilya Yablokov works in the Department of Journalism Studies at the University of Sheffield

Author: Chris Davis-SmithPublished 2nd Mar 2022

There's a call for people in South Yorkshire to 'spot the signs' of unhealthy online content on social media as the crisis in Ukraine develops further.

It's the first time a war in Europe has been lived streamed on platforms like Facebook and Twitter.

Dr Ilya Yablokov-who's from Tomsk in Russia-works as a Lecturer in Journalism & Digital Media at the University of Sheffield.

We asked him what kind of trends he's noticed online over the past few days:

"Social media does have a positive influence on people, as it can help some individuals to get connected when things are tough.

"However, the more that I've explored this growing sense of digital fear online in the last few days, there's certainly a lot of propaganda and trolling.

"There must be a way to limit social media. More needs to be done to crack down on harmful content and fake profiles.

"I have to engage in constant debates with people back home in Russia about what really goes on.

"Unfortunately, there's no way to break down this shield, as a lot of people there have been brainwashed by propaganda."

The Russian academic-who has lived in Leeds since 2015-says the ongoing crisis has upset him so much that he's struggled to concentrate at work:

"The only thing I hope now is for the war to stop, but even then, the nightmare is not going to be over, because what has been done in Ukraine will stay there forever.

"It's like a scar."

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