Internet Memes as a Defensive Communication Strategy in High-Threat Environments: A Qualitative Study of Ukrainian Media Students

Abstract

Russia’s large-scale war against Ukraine has severely disrupted traditional forms of media consumption, forcing young adults to navigate high-threat, decentralised information environments. In this context, internet memes have emerged not merely as entertainment but as vital communicative units. While these visual artefacts of digital folklore serve as important defence mechanisms for audiences under constant threat, the humour embedded within them poses significant challenges for cross-cultural communication. This longitudinal qualitative study analyses the evolution of media practices among Ukrainian media students through the lens of a Defensive Communication Strategy (DCS). By tracing the trajectory from initial cross-cultural articulations in 2023 to the deepening algorithmic awareness observed in the 2024–2025 focus groups, the research explains this unique adaptive experience. The methodology employs a two-stage design: a cross-cultural online seminar to establish a baseline of external articulation, followed by subsequent in-depth online focus groups. Discursive analysis of anonymised transcripts reveals profound changes in media resilience. Ukrainian young adults are actively employing a DCS, erecting Cognitive Firewalls, practising Affective Hygiene and skilfully using Digital Shibboleths to interpret internet memes correctly. The research reveals a systemic vulnerability at the intersection of local community resilience and algorithmic curation: the Irony Gap. When highly contextualised, defensive internet memes are exported to Western audiences operating under Digital Disenchantment (DD), they are frequently misinterpreted. Lacking the shared vernacular, external audiences risk decoding defensive parodies literally, inadvertently validating hostile narratives and fostering Digital Obscurantism. Ultimately, the study concludes that addressing this Irony Gap requires global media literacy frameworks to evolve beyond basic fact-checking to encompass the contextual decoding of visual vernaculars.