Description
The hundreds (perhaps thousands) of videos on YouTube capturing the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the war that has followed feature a variety of weaponry, but attention has often been place on the drones in these videos. Using Bramsen and Austin’s (2022) approach to video data analysis, this paper analyses a sample of YouTube videos of Ukrainian and Russian drone use since Russia’s invasion, in contrast with previous, well documented, narratives around drone use to posit a changing role of both the drone and its military user in relation to both military thought, and media portrayals. This article argues that the image of the Ukrainian drone operator in particular allows for the possibility of drones to be portrayed as liberatory devices, pushing future thinking about war away from regulation of automation and artificial intelligence, and towards a permissive environment when it comes technological advancement and war.
