Bloggers that have changed their narrative

Over the past month, the world has changed completely, and it won’t be the same anymore.

We will never be the same. Our lives will never be the way they had been.

The most important thing people care about right now is stopping the war in Ukraine. We think, talk, write and sing about it at home, on the internet, in the street, at work and gatherings. Even those who were not into politics became interested in it when the Russian invasion of Ukraine started. Influencers do not stay on the sidelines. Many posted information about the situation and started crowdfunding campaigns to help those in need. Some bloggers are making content right now mainly about Ukraine, even though their channels, blogs and vlogs have never had much political stuff.

In this article, we want to share some cases of social media experts changing the narrative of their blogs to focus on the war.

Julie Pelipas

Julie is a famous stylist and a fashion director of Vogue Ukraine. She is also an ambassador of the “No More Plastic Foundation” and a founder of bettter.us clothing brand, specializing in upcycling.

Pelipas was born in Mariupol and now lives in Kyiv. She is famous for her outstanding looks, incredible taste and making one of the best covers of Vogue magazine in the world.

Previously, Julie’s Instagram feed was full of her personal aesthetic photos, including her children and beautiful life. Now, it is all about her motherland.

There are not just emotional posts but useful information about funds, initiatives and ways to support Ukrainians (in the highlights).

Xavier Tytelman

Xavier is a former aviator in naval aviation. Today, he is an aeronautical consulting director and founder of Aviation NXT, where he carries out missions for the benefit of big names in the sector (innovation, prospective or economic studies, operational strategies, improvement of the carbon footprint, etc.) and administrations.

Since 2011, I regularly speak in conferences and the media (more than 100 hours on the sets, several thousand articles or reports...), some even say that I am an influencer. Xavier Tytelman

He has recently been posting videos about the Russian war invasion.

Devoted to the war between Russia and Ukraine, he analyzes the invasion situation from different fronts and the tactics used by each side, including their strength and weaknesses.

Tytelman is French, and his content is in French, but there are English subtitles in many of them, so you can watch the videos to understand his position as an aviator specialist and to learn more about the war.

Philip Cheung

Philip Cheung is a Los Angeles-based photographer. His works have been posted in Der Spiegel, Financial Times, Forbes, The Guardian Weekend Magazine, Lufthansa, Monocle, National Geographic, The New Yorker, The New York Times, TIME, Vanity Fair, Variety, VICE, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post.

He was awarded grants by the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council and the Toronto Arts Council and was shortlisted for the Aperture Portfolio Prize in 2018.

The Magenta Foundation, Communication Arts, PDN’s 30 and American Photo have also recognized Cheung. In addition, his work is held in the collection of Akkasah, Center for Photography at New York University in Abu Dhabi.

Philip has made a lot of shots with public personae like Keanu Reeves,

Bob Odenkirk (for The Guardian), Justin Trudeau and Avril Lavigne.

Now he is in Ukraine covering the reality—no commercial shoots, just life the way it is. His works are so cinematic that sometimes it is hard to believe they are not movie scenes. We wish they were…

Alona Bushynska

Before the war, Alyona used to be a makeup artist and makeup teacher with her own academy.

She has advertising campaigns with such brands as Garnier and Lancome.

After the war started, Alyona volunteered to join Ukraine’s military forces.

I’m not afraid to touch faces, eyes, or wounds... I’m not afraid of blood. Alona Bushynska

Alyona used to juggle several tasks and work with many people simultaneously while working at big concerts and other stressful events. She also has a reputation for a diplomatic attitude, so she’s become the de facto peacemaker to settle arguments among volunteers.

Alyona’s Instablog today is a diary of a young woman fighting for her and her homeland’s future and independency.

Alexander Rodnyansky

Alexander Rodnyansky is a Ukrainian film director, producer and businessman. As a media manager, he founded the first Ukrainian independent television network 1+1. Films produced by Rodnyansky won significant prizes at Cannes Film Festival. Some of the film awards he has won include a Golden Globe for “Leviathan” and a Cezar for “Loveless” by Andrey Zvyagintsev.

He is a member of the European Film Academy and The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Four of his films were nominated for an Oscar in the Best Foreign Film category: Chief in Love, Est-Ouest, Leviathan and Loveless. Variety500 index named Rodnyansky as one of the 500 most influential business leaders shaping the global media industry. In 2021, his AR Content production company signed a first-look deal with Apple TV+.

Alexander used to tell different stories about the industry on his Instagram account, including fascinating facts from the world-famous directors’ biography and some useful information for those who are fond of cinematography or professionally connected to it.

Since February 24th, there haven’t been any posts about the film industry, but there are many containing proven information, facts and statistics about the Russian invasion. Rodnyansky is trying hard, but patiently and well-mannered, to show his Russian audience what is really going on. This is impressive because he is Ukrainian and has been working with Russia and its film industry for quite a bit.

If you want all the important Ukrainian news in one place, pay attention to the newsletter made by The New York Times and the NPR podcast.

Take care, especially in these dark times.