Before Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the topic of Finland joining NATO was a hot debate. People were divided into two camps: those who supported joining NATO and those who were against it. This debate was mainly happening on Finnish Twitter.

Researchers looked at who was retweeting what on this topic before and after the invasion. They found that there were three main groups: people who were for joining NATO, left-wingers who were against it, and another group that seemed to believe in conspiracy theories and spread disinformation.

After the invasion, something interesting happened. The left-wingers who were against NATO started to connect with the pro-NATO group. They all agreed that what Russia was doing was wrong and that democratic values were important. The group that believed in conspiracy theories, however, didn't change their minds. They stayed separate and kept sharing their own ideas.

So, it seems that when there's a big threat, like Russia's invasion, people can come together and agree on certain issues, even if they don't agree on everything else. But if people are stuck in their own little world of false information, they might not change their minds, no matter what happens.

How Russia's Ukraine Invasion United Finns on NATO

Actions