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When was the last time you saw a live television news report from Ukraine? It's likely been a while. 

The raging war in the Middle East has put the prolonged war in Eastern Europe largely on the back burner, in terms of media coverage, with Vladimir Putin's campaign of brutality against Ukraine receiving much less attention from the press than it did prior to the Israel-Hamas conflict breaking out.

Closed-captioning data from the Internet Television Archive, which was analyzed by the GDELT Project, showed that on cable news, coverage of the Ukraine war plummeted dramatically after Hamas' shocking Oct. 7 terror attack. In the days before the Israel-Hamas war, the battle in Ukraine amounted to about eight percent of CNN's television coverage. After the attacks, CNN —the cable news network that provided the most Ukraine coverage — fell to under one percent.

As the chaos to elect a new House speaker ensnared Washington, there was a notable uptick in mentions of Ukraine on cable news networks — but the focus of the coverage mostly pertained to U.S. funding of the embattled nation, not the actual state of play in the war.

Data provided by ComScore, an Internet analytics firm, showed a similar trend play out online. The data indicated that there has been a significant drop in discussion on social media about the Ukraine war since the onset of the Israel-Hamas conflict, though it also indicated that in general, there had been a lull in attention to Putin's invasion in recent months.

The noted drop in Ukraine war coverage from the press, given the fresh violence in the Middle East, is not completely surprising. The horrific acts of violence Hamas carried out in Israel has shocked the world, arresting the attention of those who normally pay little regard to global affairs. U.S. outlets have also been juggling several other important stories in the last several weeks, including disarray in Congress, Donald Trump's legal issues, and a monstrous mass shooting in Maine.

But, at the same time, the drop in attention paid to Ukraine has been nothing short of a boon for Putin. The authoritarian Russian leader, who has committed unspeakable atrocities as his forces invade a sovereign nation, has been able to wage his war with far less scrutiny on his appalling actions.

Paul Kolbe, a senior fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs in Harvard Kennedy School, who served for 25 years in the Central Intelligence Agency, told me that Putin must be "delighted" that the war between Israel and Hamas "is diverting US attention" as Russia "continues to strike Ukrainian cities and civilian targets."

"Even as Western press coverage of war in Ukraine wanes, Russia fills the vacuum in reporting with its own campaign of distributing lies and disinformation," Kolbe said. "Putin’s strategy is to wear down Western patience and support, play upon U.S. domestic divisions, and to prey upon those in NATO which harbor latent Russian sympathies."

In addition to the kinetic military action, Putin is also waging an information war, using all the tools at his disposal to lie about and sanitize the acts of savagery being committed against a civilian population under his orders. As Kolbe told me, "Putin's media campaign to paint Ukraine as divided, corrupt, and a puppet of the U.S. and NATO, is a central part" of his strategy.

The lack of press attention makes that all the more easier.

———  BELOW THE FOLD  ———

Musk Takes Off the Mask: Conspiracy theorist and billionaire Elon Musk was roundly criticized on Thursday after, the day before, expressing support for a user who tried to prove "Hitler was right." The user claimed Jewish communities support "dialectical hatred against whites," to which Musk replied, "You have said the actual truth." In a statement, Anti-Defamation League chief executive Jonathan Greenblatt said, "At a time when antisemitism is exploding in America and surging around the world, it is indisputably dangerous to use one's influence to validate and promote antisemitic theories." And plenty of others joined in to skewer Musk for his dangerous rhetoric. CNN's David Goldman has more here.

🔎 Zooming in: This is far from the first time that Musk has amplified antisemitic tropes and rhetoric. Earlier this year, he demonized and smeared the ADL for pointing out that there has been a rise in hate speech on X. And Musk even went as far as to claim billionaire philanthropist George Soros, who has been the subject of a number of antisemitic conspiracy theories, "hates humanity" and "wants to erode the very fabric of civilization." 

Putting Horror on Display: The Washington Post on Thursday published "Terror on Repeat," the latest story in the newspaper's ongoing series "examining the role of the AR-15 in American life." Accompanying the latest piece was graphic imagery taken during and immediately after mass shootings across the country. In a note to readers, Executive Editor Sally Buzbee explained the newspaper's decision in publishing the images. It came, she said, after "careful and extensive deliberation" in the newsroom. She noted that "most Americans have no way to understand the full scope of an AR-15’s destructive power or the extent of the trauma inflicted on victims, survivors and first responders when a shooter uses this weapon on people." The WaPo, Buzbee explained, aimed to "balance two crucial objectives: to advance the public’s understanding of mass killers’ increasing use of this readily available weapon, which was originally designed for war, while being sensitive to victims’ families and communities directly affected by AR-15 shootings." Ultimately, she said, "We decided that there is public value in illuminating the profound and repeated devastation left by tragedies that are often covered as isolated news events but rarely considered as part of a broader pattern of violence."

🔎 Zooming in: Obtaining the images was not easy. Buzbee said the newspaper's report was the culmination of more than 30 public records requests and an additional review of court records and other information. Before The WaPo's journalists reviewed the graphic imagery, Buzbee said they participated in training by the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma. Additionally, Buzbee said, The WaPo provided "advance notice to many families of victims, their representatives and community leaders so they could choose to avoid the coverage if they preferred." 

TikTok's Disturbing Trend : There are a lot of disturbing trends that go viral on TikTok. But this one might take the cake for one of the worst. "Dozens of young Americans have posted videos on TikTok this week expressing sympathy with Osama bin Laden, the notorious terrorist who orchestrated the September 11 attacks, for a two-decade-old letter he wrote critiquing the United States," CNN's Donie O'Sullivan, Catherine Thorbecke, and Allison Gordon reported Thursday. The trio reported that videos on the short-form video site, where many young Americans now consume their news, had amassed at least 14 million views. Read the full story here.

► TikTok said Thursday that the videos violated its rules against supporting terrorism, but pushed back against how widely spread it was. The company said the number of videos promoting bin Laden's letter were "small" and that "reported of it trending on our platform are inaccurate."

► The bin Laden letter gained traction after The Guardian published it. The outlet said in a note Thursday that it had removed it from its site. 

How About Them Apples?: After years of resistance, Apple has finally caved. The Silicon Valley titan said Thursday it will support RCS messaging, meaning as The Verge's Emma Roth put it, "The blue versus green bubble debate may finally be winding down." In a statement, an Apple spokesperson said, "Later next year, we will be adding support for RCS Universal Profile, the standard as currently published by the GSM Association. We believe RCS Universal Profile will offer a better interoperability experience when compared to SMS or MMS. This will work alongside iMessage, which will continue to be the best and most secure messaging experience for Apple users." Read more from Roth here.

🔎 Zooming in: Apple has been under significant pressure from Google to support RCS messaging, with the Android developer even launching an advertising campaign to publicly push the iPhone maker. Adopting RCS means that iPhone and Android users will be able to text each other larger images and videos, view typing indicators and read receipts, share locations, and more.

The Complaint Against Combs: Music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs on Thursday was accused in a lawsuit filed by R&B singer Casandra Ventura (most commonly known simply as Cassie) of rape and physical assault, which she alleged took place for nearly a decade. The lawsuit is filled with explosive allegations, including that Combs beat her and forced her to engage in consecutive sexual acts with multiple male prostitutes. In another instance, Ventura alleged Combs kicked her in the face and left her bloodied. Ventura said that after "years in silence and darkness" she was ready to speak out. Combs "vehemently" denied the allegations through his lawyer, who described them as "offensive and outrageous." The NYT's Ben Sisario has details.

► In one eye-popping alleged incident, Ventura said in the lawsuit that Combs was so angry that she was dating Kid Cudi that he threatened to blow up the rapper's car. "Around that time," the suit said, "Kid Cudi’s car exploded in his driveway." The suit described Ventura as "terrified" after the alleged incident.

Thank you for reading! This newsletter was edited by Jon Passantino and produced with the assistance of Liam Reilly. Have feedback? Send us an email. You can follow us on Instagram, Threads, and LinkedIn. We will see you back in your inbox next week.