Things You Should Know: X is Better than Y
Humour as wartime public diplomacy on Twitter/X by Ukraine
August 4, 2026
In his globally awarded, peer-reviewed study, “’At least X is better than Z’: Humour as wartime public diplomacy on Twitter/X by Ukraine,” Mike Chow from University of Southern California examines Ukraine’s strategic use of humour for wartime public diplomacy.
The research challenges the traditional assumption that state communication must be strictly formal, professional, and unified. Instead, it demonstrates how Ukraine’s official Twitter/X account transitioned into a “carnivalesque” digital culture, transforming memes into a sophisticated tool of public diplomacy.
Through a multimodal discourse analysis of 179 tweets posted during the first year of the 2022 invasion, the researcher reveals that humor is a highly calculated strategic asset.
The data shows that humor was non-existent during the initial five-day “news shock” period. It only emerged as a steady strategy, appearing in 23% of the total output, once the state had established narrative control. The study finds that when the narrative theme centered on “Russian Weakness,” the account utilized humor 100% of the time. This tactical mockery was used to highlight the incompetence of the invading force and reclaim rhetorical control.
But does it work? The empirical evidence suggests a resounding yes. After the first month of the war, humorous tweets consistently achieved similar or superior engagement metrics (likes and retweets) compared to formal news.
While the top-performing serious posts peaked within the first five days of the invasion, the top humorous tweets went viral months later. This proves that humor serves as a “viral engine” to sustain international interest long after the initial news cycle fades.
For professionals in communications and international relations, the ultimate takeaway is the concept of “punching up.” Strategic humor allows an underdog to challenge a superpower’s hegemony without being beholden to the physical limitations of their own military hardware.
By utilizing informal memes, the state successfully collapses the traditional “power gap,” signaling authenticity and building a horizontal relationship with a global audience that formal bureaucracy often fails to achieve
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