If you know any Armenian or have any Armenian friends I am sure by now you are well aware of what our Armenian brothers and sisters in the region of Artsakh are dealing. On September 26, 2020, Azerbedjian initiated an attack on the long disputed region of Nagorno-Kharabakh, an area right by the Azerbedjian border that is heavily populated with Armenians (Toal, O’Loughlin, Bakke, 2020). This region has been long disputed between the two countries due to the crash of the Soviet Union, where the region was annexed to Azerbedjian, which essentially led to war in 1994 resulting in a ceasefire. (Toal, O’Loughlin, Bakke, 2020) With the ceasefire intact Azerbedjian decided to break their agreement and initiate attacks on the region. As a result the Armenian diaspora has become enraged because of the years of conflict not only with the Azeri people, but also their neighboring country of Turkey. This ongoing dispute has targeted Armenians and the Republic of Armenia since the early 20th century where a Genocide was induced by the Ottoman Empire. Over 100 years later, these acts of terrorism have not ceased and with the emergence of the digital age, it has become more evident as to what the Turkish-Azeri agenda has been all along.
To further relate this to integrated communications I’d like to discuss the power of social media and how quickly and easily news is spread all around the world. In the past, where war has initiated, we would have news articles and eventually television coverage of what is happening around the world. In todays era, we are able to get news immediately. Being of Armenian decent most of my surrounding friends and family have also been Armenian. With the emergence of the war in the region of Nagorno-Karabagh, the Armenian diaspora has become a social media army, joining forces of Armenians around the world. Armenians are able to come together on social media platforms in order to find resolutions and provide aid to our country not only by following each other and talking amongst ourselves, but by using these platforms in order to spread awareness all around the world with what is happening back home in our country.
Social media has become a powerful tool in integrating communications. Whether it be for the purpose of advertising a business or for using any sort of post to spread awareness of a movement, like we saw with the BLM movement, it has enhanced individual knowledge and allows for people to spread news in all parts of the world. Some examples of integrating communications as a response to the war in Armenia include news posts giving us updates about the current situation. There is also an overflow of information about the conflict, a timeline of the conflict, as well as posts recognizing the deeper issue of why the war in 2020 broke out. Additionally, there is information about the sort of protests there will be and where we can make donations. However, with the use of social media to spread good and helpful advice, there is also ongoing hatred and cyberattacks initiated by opposing party’s.
Cyberbots have been unleashed onto social media platforms such as Instagram and Twitter to send terrorist messages to Armenian people, glorifying crimes against humanity. Social media has become a part of modern day warfare and it is being used in front of all of our eyes to both help aid Armenia and release hate against the Armenian people. It is important to unite with your social media followers in order to spread awareness for a good cause and declare humanitarian peace amongst all. Social media is a powerful tool and may either lead to more hatred, war and propaganda or it may unite the world into fighting against war crimes on human rights. By doing so, we will be able to stop the continued violence not only in Armenia but all around the world. We as a society are no longer blind to the crimes happening in the world and we must unite in order to stop terrorism and stop terrorist dictators from regaining power and expressing their hatred towards a particular race/culture and religion.
Sources:
Toal, G., O’Loughlin, J., Bakke, K. (2020). The fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh is about local territories and wider rivalries. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/10/02/fighting-nagorno-karabakh-is-about-local-territories-wider-rivalries/
The image below was posted on to Twitter and various other social media platforms in order to spread awareness of what the Armenian people are currently dealing with, hatred.
3 Responses to War In the Digital Age