%0 Journal Article
%A Moral, Pablo
%A Torres-Soriano, Manuel Ricardo
%T From marginality to mobilization: the emergence of a pro-Russian digital community in the Spanish speaking sphere
%D 2026
%U https://hdl.handle.net/10433/27275
%X This study examines the formation of a Spanish-language digital community on YouTube alignedwith Russian narratives during the Ukraine war, following the March 2022 EU and YouTube bans onRT and Sputnik. We focus on eight channels that presented themselves as independent alternativesto mainstream media narratives about the conflict. Through computational analysis of909,913 comments from 226,038 users (February 2022–February 2025), we document this communitythrough three converging lines of evidence: substantial subscriber growth from minimalprior audiences, significant cross-channel audience interconnection, and discursive alignmentsupporting Russia while expressing hostility toward Ukraine, Western allies, and mainstreammedia censorship. The findings suggest platform restrictions may have inadvertently strengthenedthis community by providing mobilizing persecution narratives. Notably, Spanish functioned asa transnational bridge, enabling European-based creators to reach both restricted Europeanaudiences and other Spanish-speaking viewers worldwide, undermining the geographic specificityof content bans and amplifying the reach of these narratives. This research illustrates challenges ofcontent moderation in multilingual, globally connected digital ecosystems.
%K Digital communities
%K Ukraine war
%K Russia
%K YouTube
%K Content moderation
%~