♪ Everybody's watching her ♪
♪ But she's looking at you ♪
Narrator: The internet is obsessed
with the war in Ukraine.
Millions of people around the world
are watching surreal TikToks of how life has changed,
what it's like to live in a bomb shelter,
and how the underdog Ukrainian military
is fighting harder than anyone expected.
The actor turned president has become
an international sensation.
Even reposted clips from his appearance
on Ukraine's version of "Dancing with the Stars"
are racking up millions of views.
And many of these videos have become a symbol of resistance.
Narrator: This is how war goes viral.
Dancing Ukrainian soldiers were already a thing
weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine.
♪ You've been hit by a smooth criminal ♪
Narrator: Alex Hook got millions of views
with videos he posted to show his daughter he was safe,
according to several reports.
He became an online celebrity.
And when he stopped posting,
there were rumors that he had died.
But four days after the Russian invasion began, he was back.
Alex warned his followers about trusting everything
you see online.
Meanwhile, 20-year-old Valeri Shashenok
has grown a massive audience
as she documents her life in Chernihiv,
a city near the border with Russia.
Her tours of life in a bomb shelter
were the first to go viral
and are still her most popular videos to date.
Travel vlogger Alina Volik showed her fans
what it's like to wake up to sirens
and be ready to flee at any moment.
Then I just realized that this is unreal,
and I was watching news all day long,
I couldn't leave my phone.
And I decided to make my video
and to show people what it's like to live in Ukraine.
Narrator: Social media became a major pipeline
for updates on destruction and resistance.
Like when a man tried to stop a convoy of Russian trucks
with his own body.
And when a woman confronted Russian soldiers
in Henichesk.
Footage of attacks in a humanitarian corridor
near Kyiv made the rounds on Twitter.
[bleep]
Narrator: But if there were a main star
to this viral story, it would have to be
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Like an influencer, he used selfie videos
to show people where he was
and promised he wouldn't leave Ukraine.
Zelenskyy seems to have brought to life
a version of the character the former comedian
once played on TV, a school teacher who goes viral
and then becomes president.
And yes, that clip has also gone viral.
People have watched Russian attacks
on a Ukrainian nuclear plant more than 10 million times
on his Instagram account.
And he drew a massive crowd in real life in Georgia,
another country that was invaded by Russia in 2008.
And Zelenskyy made sure to leverage it
to ask Europe for help.
He reached billionaires like Elon Musk.
Zelenskyy: If you will have time after the war,
you are very welcome, I invite you.
Sounds good, well I look forward to visiting.
Narrator: And as his selfie videos have proven
more popular than traditional addresses,
he's used them to bring attention to official announcements.
Ukrainian government accounts are working hard
to harness the internet's potential for boosting morale.
And this promotional video shared by Ukraine's
defense ministry shows that the target audience
is often regular European citizens.
Even celebrities have taken up viral battle cries.
The events that have unfolded in Ukraine are devastating.
There is no place in this world
for this kind of unjust attack.
Narrator: Actress Mila Kunis, who is from Ukraine,
started a GoFundMe page to raise funds
for humanitarian relief efforts.
But today I have never been more proud to be a Ukrainian.
And I've never been more proud
to be married to a Ukrainian.
Narrator: "Frozen" star Idina Menzel
eventually shared the video
of a little girl singing "Let It Go" in the bomb shelter.
[singing "Let It Go" in Ukrainian]
A violinist played for the world from another bomb shelter,
this time in one of the worst-hit cities, Kharkiv.
Here, a Ukrainian military band
plays at the barricades in Odesa.
Even American TikTokers have been trying
to make sense of it.
Big man P was looking at Ukraine,
and he like, "Hm, I like that territory,
it's like real close to Russia,
and I feel like it belong to us, and I'm finna come get it."
So he done moved his military close to the border,
and he letting 'em know like, "I'm finna come get it,
just letting y'all know," right?
And so Ukraine is like,
"Mm, we don't know what he gonna do."
So they got they military out there teaching
they citizens how to do Tae Bo just in case
they gotta defend theyselves.
Narrator: The viral moments have a real-life impact.
Millions around the world have taken to the streets
in protest.
Dozens of companies felt the pressure
to stop doing business in Russia,
and NATO countries have been sending weapons to Ukraine.
Still, it hasn't been enough for Zelenskyy,
who continues his pleas.
But as the world watches the war unfold
from behind a screen, the destruction remains all too real
for the Ukrainian people.