How Reddit’s r/place became a way to show support for Ukraine

Ukraine supporters have successfully left their mark on Reddit’s digital canvas r/place, but it hasn’t been easy.

Monday was the last day of r/place, a subreddit (created by Josh Wardle, pre-Wordle fame) where users have a limited number of days to add to a digital canvas by changing pixel colors one by one. Once r/place is closed, the end result is a collage of images that artfully represent the multifaceted community that is Reddit. The collaborative art project was first introduced on April Fools’ Day in 2017. Over the course of three days, over one million people uploaded 16 million pixels. For the first time since 2017, r/place is back and it has become another digital frontline for showing solidarity with Ukraine.

“When Reddit announced r/place again, I knew that Ukraine would have to be represented properly,” said moderator u/anondeadpixel in an email to Mashable. “I reached out to a few folk who had started the r/placeUkraine as a joke before the announcement of r/place 2022, and well, we very quickly became inundated by everyone flooding us.”

To create a pixelated image on the r/place canvas takes a concerted effort. Millions of people are constantly changing pixels throughout the duration of the project. So, to make any real progress — and keep it — requires a group effort. Thousands of people with collective interests join forces to create an image. But once the image is created, it doesn’t stop there. Now the group has to defend its place on the canvas by forming strategic alliances with its neighbors in exchange for some pixels or protection against other coordinated groups trying to invade. In many ways, r/place mimics the delicate balance of international diplomacy. “There’s limited space on R/Place, and everyone is fighting to gain territory, hold territory, and some communities like R/PlaceUkraine, just wanted to be peaceful,” said u/anondeadpixel.

It’s fitting that a coordinated group has formed to create Ukraine-themed artwork on the canvas. “We wanted to celebrate Ukraine with a mural of peace and prosperity, showing off Ukrainian culture and history, while working with allied communities to allow them to add their own artwork,” said u/anondeadpixel. Over the past four days, the subreddit r/placeukraine is responsible for a large swath on the upper lefthand corner of the canvas devoted to Ukraine. Against the backdrop of the blue and yellow Ukrainian flag is President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wearing sunglasses, the phrase “Slava Ukraini!” in Ukrainian, which means “Glory to Ukraine!,” the fighter jet belonging to the mythical “Ghost of Kyiv,” a tractor pulling a tank, as well as two Ukrainian churches.

u/anondeadpixel said initially, the public made a massive Ukrainian flag, which destroyed other artwork and angered other users, who in turn started to dissolve the flag. “That’s when r/placeukraine stepped in to coordinate everything, and we made the oath to NEVER attack anyone, and remain peaceful.”

The design and execution of this artwork has been painstakingly coordinated with the help of a dedicated team of moderators. Most of the granular planning happened in its Discord channel which has over 2,000 people. “We started planning it as we went, asking our community what they wanted to see, and working closely with Ukrainian members to ensure we stayed true to their culture,” said u/anondeadpixel. Design ideas were proposed and voted on. Next, Google spreadsheets that served as the templates for the designs were shared out. The cells in the Google spreadsheet mimic the pixels of the canvas; each one has a corresponding number and color, which makes for a foolproof way to build out the design.

Even at the time of this writing on the last day of the project, new designs are being proposed and added, and existing designs are still evolving. Early on in the project, the yellow band on the Ukrainian flag had “Fuck Putin” written repeatedly across it, but participants overwhelmingly agreed to clean it up because people felt it disrespected the flag and looked ugly. At some point, r/placeukraine seemed to make an alliance with a French group, which allowed Marianne, the French symbol of liberty, to extend into the Ukraine flag. Instead of her traditional red cap, which would represent France’s colors, she wears blue and yellow. “I think she matches the Ukrainian spirit of revolution/defense against the Russians,” wrote u/MrPapillon. While r/placeukraine has friendly relations with r/placefrance and a group from Denmark, it has had to keep fighting to maintain its design on the canvas. Redditors are constantly having to “hold the line” in defense of their pixel borders as other colors try to creep in. And earlier today, suspected Russian bots tried to destroy Zelenskyy’s face. The attack prompted an “all hands on deck” announcement from u/lilknapsack to protect Zelenskyy.

Redditors remain active on r/place with the intent to protect their designs until all the pixels are locked forever at some point today (an announcement confirmed that it would close today, but didn’t say what time.) u/anondeadpixel says the response has been extremely positive. “You will always have some folk who want a little more, [or something] a little different, but the great thing about cooperation is compromising and working together to share our ideas and make something amazing.”

UPDATE: Apr. 4, 2022, 8:10 p.m. EDT This story has been updated to correct the r/placeukraine moderator’s username to u/anondeadpixel.