The memories we (dis)like: wartime global news and Ukrainian-language poetry as semantic weapons

The research notes examine a shared memory created during the Russian war against Ukraine, as depicted in news coverage of global media outlets, and in Ukrainian-language competitive poetry from international free competitions and Ukrainian governmental art projects. The research goal is to explain the hidden dangers and consequences of war memorization. The author compares public collective evaluations of key metaphors used in news during the initial three weeks of war and analyzes key images in Ukrainian poetry from pre-war and wartime periods. Preliminary results of the secondary qualitative content analysis of news and analysis of group discussions with students specializing in different fields illustrate how the metaphors varied in terms of adequacy and artistic expressiveness due to societal evaluations. The findings of quantitative semantic analysis of Ukrainian-language poems highlight how the shift in key images correlates with the transition from a relatively peaceful context to an overtly military one. The knowledge gained contributes to a better understanding of memory weaponization and specific ways in which collective sensitivity is little influenced by media positions (pro-Ukrainian or non-pro-Ukrainian), being more dependent on a sense of morality.