al difficulty than the world wars.
By sharing these new, more realistic images and videos, the public was brought even closer to the realities of war. This connection to, and awareness of the true experience of battle helped shift the public’s understanding of war. Once viewed as brave young men going off to serve their country, enlisted and professional soldiers were now met with deeper compassion and a more profound understanding of the suffering they, and many civilians, had endured.
Images from the Vietnam War provided evidence that energised the growing anti-war movement. Several famous and emotionally powerful photographs from this period weren’t even of the battlefield. Rather, they were captured on American soil. The Flower Child by Marc Riboud became an iconic image of the anti-war movement. In fact, for many war photographers the underlying message of their images is naturally anti-war.
Photo by Photo by Rebecca Harris
Where we stand today
As mentioned, changes in tech have played a significant role in transforming both the photographic process and the way we see and understand photographs. This is particularly true for the transition from film to digital. Today, the context in which war photographs are created is completely different.
Near universal access to mobile phones, the internet, and social media has ushered in a new era of almost instant coverage. Anybody, anywhere, can photograph what is happening in front of them and make it globally accessible.
We saw this when photographs of bombings in Kyiv were published online almost instantly. People were able to share first-hand reports of the invasion via their social media accounts. As a result, war photography is no longer the sole preserve of professional photojournalists. The citizen journalist is a new unregulated source of information and imagery. One that provides us with instant, first-hand accounts of the individual experience.
Leaving out the middleman
This new level of citizen-generated coverage leaves less room for government-curated propaganda. It also bypasses the flow of information and images from traditional media corporations. Many of the pictures we are seeing of Ukraine shared on social media have not been filtered, or verified, by a third party or a professional news organisation. This can be viewed as both a positive and a negative.
One may feel as though it is now possible to gain access to more independent news sources than were previously available. However, images and information provided directly through social media channels are not always verified or subject to the ethical standards that most professional media organisations and photojournalists adhere to.
At the end of the day, the professional photojournalist war photographer has a single mission: to try and bear witness to what they see in as neutral a manner as possible. Whereas the citizen journalist does not necessarily have a need or desire to remain neutral. With this new blend of civilian images and photographs taken by dedicated photojournalists, the way the Ukraine war is being portrayed may arguably be the most direct and authentic coverage of a major conflict in history.
It is important to bear in mind that there are always two sides to any story (or three if you want the absolute truth). In Russia, the authorities have forbidden troops from carrying mobile phones. This prevents their soldiers from recording their own successes, suffering, and setbacks. Russian civilians are also under a social media ban, making it almost impossible for them to get an accurate understanding of what is happening in Ukraine.
Photo by Photo by Mathias P.R. Reding
Global call to action
Images and experiences from Ukraine have reached billions of people across the globe and have brought the realities of the War to millions of people via their mobile phones. By creating this global, instant connection between viewers and those involved, the world has witnessed a swift international anti-war movement including global boycotts, fundraising, refugee support, and calls for referendum.
Photogra