TikTok war: How Russia’s invasion of Ukraine played to social media’s youngest audience

Protesters hold banners during a rally against Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Tokyo, Japan, on Feb 26, 2022. — Reuters

When Russia invaded Ukraine last week, some of social media’s youngest users experienced the conflict from the front lines on TikTok.

Videos of people huddling and crying in windowless bomb shelters, explosions blasting through urban settings and missiles streaking across Ukrainian cities took over the app from its usual offerings of fashion, fitness and dance videos.