{"id":1806377,"date":"2022-03-14T14:58:18","date_gmt":"2022-03-14T18:58:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/?p=1806377"},"modified":"2022-03-14T14:58:18","modified_gmt":"2022-03-14T18:58:18","slug":"how-maps-of-the-russian-invasion-of-ukraine-can-mislead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2022\/03\/how-maps-of-the-russian-invasion-of-ukraine-can-mislead\/","title":{"rendered":"How Maps of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine Can Mislead"},"content":{"rendered":"

Writing in Foreign Policy<\/em>, Mateusz Fafinski looks at maps of the Russian invasion of Ukraine<\/a>, their disconnect with facts on the ground, and their use in propaganda. \u201cNumerous news outlets and analysts produce maps of the war in Ukraine. These maps tend to follow a similar pattern. Areas of Russian advances get colored in red, sometimes augmented with arrows signifying the direction of Russian movements. Those areas are variously described as \u2018areas occupied\u2019 or \u2018areas taken.\u2019 At face value, these maps tell a story of significant Russian progress and control. But reports from the ground tell a more nuanced story.\u201d<\/p>\n

For context, see previous posts: Mapping the Russian Invasion of Ukraine: A Roundup<\/a>; Mapping the Russian Invasion of Ukraine: Roundup #2<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Writing in Foreign Policy, Mateusz Fafinski looks at maps of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, their disconnect with facts on the ground, and their use in propaganda. \u201cNumerous news outlets and analysts produce maps of… More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"link","meta":{"autoblue_enabled":true,"autoblue_custom_message":"","autoblue_shares":[],"autoblue_post_url":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[585,464],"class_list":["post-1806377","post","type-post","status-publish","format-link","hentry","category-conflicts","tag-russia","tag-ukraine","post_format-post-format-link"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1806183,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2022\/03\/mapping-the-russian-invasion-of-ukraine-a-roundup\/","url_meta":{"origin":1806377,"position":0},"title":"Mapping the Russian Invasion of Ukraine: A Roundup","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"2 March 2022","format":"link","excerpt":"Areas vs. lines. I\u2019ve seen several reminders that the areas shown in some maps as being under control by Russian forces are not necessarily under Russian control. Since Russian columns have to stick to major roads and cannot, under current conditions, move cross-country, the argument is to visualize Russian incursions\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Conflicts"","block_context":{"text":"Conflicts","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/conflicts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Map of Ukraine showing Russian incursions from Nathan Ruser, Putin\u2019s War: The Daily Ukraine Brief, 2 Mar 2022.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/daily-ukraine-brief-2022-03-02-1024x740.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/daily-ukraine-brief-2022-03-02-1024x740.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/daily-ukraine-brief-2022-03-02-1024x740.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/daily-ukraine-brief-2022-03-02-1024x740.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1806513,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2022\/03\/mapping-the-russian-invasion-of-ukraine-roundup-3\/","url_meta":{"origin":1806377,"position":1},"title":"Mapping the Russian Invasion of Ukraine: Roundup #3","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"24 March 2022","format":"link","excerpt":"The Financial Times has a storymap exploring how Russian mistakes and unexpectedly stiff Ukrainian resistance changed the expected outcome of the war. [Maps Mania] Bellingcat has launched a map showing civilian harm in Ukraine. \u201cIncluded in the map are instances where civilian areas and infrastructure have been damaged or destroyed,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Conflicts"","block_context":{"text":"Conflicts","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/conflicts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1806713,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2022\/04\/the-design-choices-behind-maps-of-the-russian-invasion-of-ukraine\/","url_meta":{"origin":1806377,"position":2},"title":"The Design Choices Behind Maps of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"8 April 2022","format":"link","excerpt":"In Geographical magazine, Doug Specht and Alexander Kent examine some of the design choices made by media organizations mapping the Russian invasion of Ukraine. \u201cCartographic design choices over colour, layout, lettering and symbology, for example, all influence our attitudes and feelings towards the war in Ukraine. [...] [B]y understanding how\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Cartography"","block_context":{"text":"Cartography","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/cartography\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1806237,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2022\/03\/mapping-the-russian-invasion-of-ukraine-roundup-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":1806377,"position":3},"title":"Mapping the Russian Invasion of Ukraine: Roundup #2","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"8 March 2022","format":"link","excerpt":"Content warning: Some of these links contain disturbing images: I\u2019ve marked them with a \u2020. More on the question of whether theatre maps accurately reflect the ground situation. Nathan Ruser\u2019s maps have been used to argue that Russian forces are controlling roads rather than territory, but Ruser complains that his\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Conflicts"","block_context":{"text":"Conflicts","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/conflicts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/daily-ukraine-brief-2022-03-02-300x217.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1806152,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2022\/03\/traffic-data-inadvertently-revealed-the-start-of-the-russian-invasion\/","url_meta":{"origin":1806377,"position":4},"title":"Traffic Data Inadvertently Revealed the Start of the Russian Invasion","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"2 March 2022","format":"link","excerpt":"AppleInsider looks at how online maps (Apple Maps, Google Maps), especially their traffic layer, inadvertently revealed Russian troop movements at the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The sheer volume of mapping data now available at our fingertips means it was possible for civilians half a world away to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Conflicts"","block_context":{"text":"Conflicts","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/conflicts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1806127,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2022\/02\/the-news-media-maps-the-russian-invasion-of-ukraine\/","url_meta":{"origin":1806377,"position":5},"title":"The News Media Maps the Russian Invasion of Ukraine","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"24 February 2022","format":"link","excerpt":"In a Twitter thread, Lisa Charlotte Muth provides a comprehensive list of maps and infographics about the Russian invasion of Ukraine produced by news organizations.","rel":"","context":"In "Conflicts"","block_context":{"text":"Conflicts","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/conflicts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1806377","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1806377"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1806377\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1806381,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1806377\/revisions\/1806381"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1806377"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1806377"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1806377"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}