BOTTOM LINE
KATE THOMPSON DAVY: Today’s war is a tech war, showing how digital the world has become
Both Russian and Ukrainian leaders appeal to the tech giants to restrict services and clamp down on misinformation
As I write this an international war is unfolding in real time on our screens, big and small. Of course, it’s not the only major contemporary conflict and we shouldn’t be myopic, ignoring fighting in other nations. There are skirmishes around the world, and civil wars laying waste to cities and peoples. But the sight of Russian tanks rolling through sovereign Ukraine, the bombing in Kyiv and other cities, missiles lighting up the sky — it feels different, and in many ways it is.
One of those ways is in the tech sphere. Almost immediately we saw the first demonstrations of the role digital tech is taking in this conflict — from the individual to the geopolitical — and we are barely a week into it. For example, in the first days Ukrainian women reported that Russian soldiers were not just marching in their streets but had also taken to Tinder, seeking companionship on their campaign, or perhaps a different type of action...
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