Digitalization of Ukrainian military media beyond the martial law in the country: Technological advances and new possibilities

This study examines the role of military and civilian media in a hybrid digital media system during wartime, using the Ukrainian case as an empirical example. Based on a comparative analysis of 36 military and civilian media outlets, the study applies platform-based metrics of visibility and engagement, including views, comments, shares, and speaker participation. The results show that military media exhibit a high operational dissemination capacity, characterized by a significantly higher publication frequency and rapid distribution of factual information. Civilian media, in contrast, tend to influence the interpretation of events and audience engagement within the digital public sphere. Direct persuasive or behavioral effects are beyond the scope of this study. Instead, the emphasis is placed on platform-based visibility (the volume of text and video content and its view counts) and audience engagement (user comments and speaker participation). In this paper, these two interrelated dimensions are conceptualized as the essential structural factors that determine a media subsystem’s estimated communicative reach within a hybrid platform environment. The findings contribute to research on hybrid media systems and strategic communication by clarifying the functional differentiation between military and civilian media in digital warfare.