War Populism? Volodymyr Zelensky’s Visual Transformation on Instagram after Russia’s Full-Scale Invasion of Ukraine

This study examines Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visual transformation on the social media platform Instagram after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. While the populist style often involves politicians artificially triggering perceptions of crises to underscore their unique leadership qualities, the crisis Zelensky faced was undeniably real. Therefore, I argue the existential threat to Ukraine that Russia’s invasion posed provided the context for Zelensky to present a more authentic version of himself on Instagram than before. Nevertheless, features of Zelensky’s Instagram strategy after Russia’s invasion can be traced back to the populist style he employed on the platform beforehand.