6 ms·

This and https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30525759 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30525759 ... The Ukranian government seems to be very media-savvy,

This and https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30525759 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30525759 ... The Ukranian government seems to be very media-savvy, but for me this is noise compared to signal (important government declarations about the conflict, not about income tax on seized equipment), I feel like saying "My god man, can't you be a little serious, there's a fucking war going on!".

wasmitnetzen 5y ago
Morale is very important in a war, especially if you're the side with the technological disadvantage. I feel like a lot of the Ukrainian gov communications tries to keep up the morale. It also shows that the Government is still able to work, also an important signal to the country.
- senectus1 5y ago
  its also a great way to motivate a subset of society... and redirect their efforts from looting to making sure the russians dont re-take their kit.
CapricornNoble 5y ago
Sometimes a laconic demeanor is exactly what the troops need from their leadership.
pjc50 5y ago
It's a great little piece of propaganda. It conveys that ordinary citizens have been capturing abandoned Russian vehicles, and tacitly encourages them to continue to do this. It gets Westerners sharing it because of the black humor of having a tax policy on captured enemy vehicles. (And there seem to have been a lot of them; those interested can follow along on https://twitter.com/UAWeapons https://twitter.com/UAWeapons who post identifying captions in English. As always, take with a pinch of salt.)
MaysonL 5y ago
Imagine the Russian soldiers' parents reading this, and then getting a phone calls from their sons, now POWs, but still alive.
- watwut 5y ago
  They wont be reading this. Russia is informationally closed and now it became crime to spread "disinformation about war". This would likely fall in that category (regardless of whether true or not). Also, Russian soldiers are dying too. It is fair to guess they are more likely to die then become POW.
  - ceejayoz 5y ago
    North Koreans manage to get DVDs of Marvel movies. The Russians will manage - they’ve still got actual access to the Internet.
    - emteycz 5y ago
      You're assuming they're going to be trying, but they don't know they should be "managing" something.
      - ceejayoz 5y ago
        Yes, I’m assuming post-Soviet Russia will have a little skepticism of state-run media. There’s pretty good historical precedent.
        emteycz 5y ago
        Well that's completely wrong. Putin's propaganda machine is arguably even more performant than Soviets ever had it.
        ceejayoz 5y ago
        Improvements in propaganda operations are significantly counterbalanced by ease of access. The Internet is a wild place, and there are lots of venues like Telegram available for largely unfettered conversations. Plenty of Russians still on Reddit; the chances of them remaining entirely unexposed to external information is slim.

wasmitnetzen 5y ago

Morale is very important in a war, especially if you're the side with the technological disadvantage. I feel like a lot of the Ukrainian gov communications tries to keep up the morale. It also shows that the Government is still able to work, also an important signal to the country.

senectus1 5y ago
its also a great way to motivate a subset of society... and redirect their efforts from looting to making sure the russians dont re-take their kit.

CapricornNoble 5y ago

Sometimes a laconic demeanor is exactly what the troops need from their leadership.

pjc50 5y ago

It's a great little piece of propaganda. It conveys that ordinary citizens have been capturing abandoned Russian vehicles, and tacitly encourages them to continue to do this. It gets Westerners sharing it because of the black humor of having a tax policy on captured enemy vehicles. (And there seem to have been a lot of them; those interested can follow along on https://twitter.com/UAWeapons https://twitter.com/UAWeapons who post identifying captions in English. As always, take with a pinch of salt.)

MaysonL 5y ago

Imagine the Russian soldiers' parents reading this, and then getting a phone calls from their sons, now POWs, but still alive.

watwut 5y ago
They wont be reading this. Russia is informationally closed and now it became crime to spread "disinformation about war". This would likely fall in that category (regardless of whether true or not). Also, Russian soldiers are dying too. It is fair to guess they are more likely to die then become POW.
- ceejayoz 5y ago
  North Koreans manage to get DVDs of Marvel movies. The Russians will manage - they’ve still got actual access to the Internet.
  - emteycz 5y ago
    You're assuming they're going to be trying, but they don't know they should be "managing" something.
    - ceejayoz 5y ago
      Yes, I’m assuming post-Soviet Russia will have a little skepticism of state-run media. There’s pretty good historical precedent.
      - emteycz 5y ago
        Well that's completely wrong. Putin's propaganda machine is arguably even more performant than Soviets ever had it.
        ceejayoz 5y ago
        Improvements in propaganda operations are significantly counterbalanced by ease of access. The Internet is a wild place, and there are lots of venues like Telegram available for largely unfettered conversations. Plenty of Russians still on Reddit; the chances of them remaining entirely unexposed to external information is slim.