We are thrilled to share that Terilee Edwards-Hewitt’s book chapter, “The Meme Information War in Support of Ukraine,” has been recently published!
Terilee is a PhD candidate in Cultural Studies and stood out in the last period for her remarkable participation in the GMU Three Minute Thesis, where she advanced to the top 10 finalists, and for her published book review of Timothy Recuber’s The Digital Departed (NYU Press, 2023) in the International Journal of Communication (2026). In her book chapter in Foundations in Cyber-Ethnography (2026), she discusses how people try to make sense of catastrophe and express solidarity via social media communities in the context of the Ukrainian war.
For Terilee, memes play an interesting role in articulating solidarity and disputing public discourse. She argues that during the first months of the intensification of the Russian invasion, many people around the world felt a strong need to somehow support the Ukrainian people and government. While presence and material support were, for the most part, not available options, memes became one of the ways this impulse was expressed. She explained that “what is fascinating is that the need to do something, to do anything, was the creation of memes on social media to show their feelings, 'Ukraine will prevail', and to encourage others to donate and help in other ways, and as a way to say 'Hey World - We Notice. We are here.' It certainly was attention-grabbing.”
Terilee observes that people hope the memes were also a form of talkback to the Russian social media campaigns, which are continually and heavily funded by their government. She also points to the prominent use of U.S. popular culture in these memes, while widely recognizable media references travel across global audiences and may help build a shared sense of meaning and solidarity.
We asked Terilee what insights working not only on the chapter but also on the book review gave her into how digital media structures and mediates collective emotional life in times of crisis. Reflecting on both wartime humor and digital mourning, Teri recognizes that one of the most important questions is whose voices are absent. She explains that "certainly what gains traction online can be influenced by algorithms, but it also is what the individual, as a social media user, chooses to view or what accounts to follow? If no one is posting about it, then how can people learn about a situation? But really important is that social media lets people discuss their grief. Social media is now one of the places in the US where it is okay to perform grief, not perform in a negative way, but it is okay to be outward about it. I also think there can be a purpose in public grief online - it can unite people. It may be they find they share more than they realized. Or it may be a call to action. Of course, it is easy to imagine how that might be used in ways that are not constructive/positive".
As she argues, social media, despite its negative aspects, remains a space with potential for meaningful connections.
For students interested in publishing and building academic networks, Terille shares some advice. “If possible, attend and present at relevant conferences for your work. And while it is not likely to happen often, you may be on a panel where one of the other panelists is putting together a book. This is how I was invited a week after the 2023 PCA/ACA Conference to submit my presentation as a chapter to be reviewed. Of course, that was not a guarantee that it would be accepted, but it was! At conferences, you are likely to see fliers on the tables in the book seller's room, with Call For Papers for possible books. Also, if you go to a conference and they have any panels or workshops on how to get published, attend them!” She recognizes it can be expensive, but suggests less costly options. She says that it is also a great idea “to get on relevant email lists. Alex Monea and other professors do a good job of letting people know about CFP for journals or books that may be relevant”.
Currently, Terilee is focused on her dissertation, "More than Hashtags: Women in STEM and Social Media." She outlines the project as follows: “While the number of women and men is nearly equal on social media, women are a minority in STEM fields which gives them an outsider/insider perspective. The project examines how women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) fields use social media as sites of networking and support, but at the same time how social media is also a type of uncompensated labor which is not valued as highly as other work in STEM. For my project, I am using social media discourse analysis along with interviews and surveys”.
We are so excited to read her completed dissertation!
You can find the book chapter here: https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/foundations-in-cyberethnography-9781666974218/