Imagefare: How Political Satire Became a Weapon in the Russo-Ukrainian War

Political satire is a significant aspect of modern culture and has a profound impact on politics, especially during times of war. The relationship between the actual events of military conflicts and their representation shapes how the public perceives and understands them. The full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, ignited a heightened interest in Ukrainian affairs and resulted in a surge of memes and cartoons from Ukraine, Russia, and around the world. These humorous genres serve as tools for both conflict parties to mock each other. The concepts “weaponization of humor” and “imagefare” deserve serious academic consideration, as they play a crucial role in shaping the public image of the belligerents. Political cartoons and memes influence the framing of the Russo-Ukrainian war and public perceptions and attitudes. Political satire can be analyzed considering its target, focus, and presentation, while political cartoons and memes – their goal, frame of reference, and means. The analytical framework developed for this paper combines these elements: goal with target, frame of reference with focus, and means with presentation. This framework utilizes multimodal discourse analysis to examine the role of humor in armed conflicts.