War memes: language transformations after the Russian invasion of Ukraine

Abstract

The study of media viruses and memes that have emerged as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine represents a relevant interdisciplinary approach that brings together philology, cultural studies, history, psychology, social communications and social sciences. Memes ("bavovna", "zeleni cholovichky") have become not only symbols-viruses, but also effective means of mass communication and expression of national identity. The study of memes includes the following aspects: a selection of headline titles with a meme component, analysis of their semantics; disclosure of the social and cultural context and history of events that led to their emergence; study of perceptions and reactions to memes, their impact; determination of the role of memes in order to form public consciousness. The study of the "bavovna" and "zeleni cholovichky" memes was carried out on the basis of online media headlines in Ukrainian, Polish, Lithuanian and English, which provides a wide range of analysis and clarification of the impact of these memes on different cultures and societies, interpretation of events and realities related to the war in Ukraine. The use of memes as components of media headlines demonstrates the importance of the information space and its impact on the perception of geopolitical events and threats. The media use these symbols to emphasise the seriousness of issues, shape positions, and provoke discussion. This approach helps to understand better the important factors of society, the relationship with historical events and political realities, the specifics of the emergence of new memes, algorithms for their transformation into viruses, and the peculiarities of development, spread and transformation in social media.