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IREX

Media and War: Support in 2022

challenge

Ukrainian journalists are at the epicenter of a full-scale war

From the first days of the full-scale invasion, Ukrainian reporters and their outlets  have been at the forefront of the fight against Russian aggression 24/7. Thanks to their courage and professionalism, Ukrainians and the whole world have learned about Russia's crimes. At the same time, journalists suffered from the war in the same way as the rest of the citizens of Ukraine. 61.44% of editors report the psychological burden of their work as one of the biggest problems they have faced during the war. Many media workers in Ukraine have left their homes and moved to safer places. Being away from home and in a constant intense stream of news worsens journalists' mental health and increases anxiety.

According to a study by the Commission for Journalistic Ethics, 58 % of journalists had difficulties covering war-related topics, with 19 % requiring expert support and 8 % needing psychological support.

On March 3, 2022, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine issued an order regulating the work of journalists during martial law. It was essential to understand new rules, prohibitions, possible dangers and how to pull oneself together in critical situations.

Despite the shock, anxiety and uncertainty, we realized that we had to use our expertise and capabilities to help the Ukrainian media, which is holding down the vital information front.

solution

Resources and knowledge to help media work effectively

With the support of the International Research & Exchanges Board (IREX), our team provided a broad range of support to Ukrainian journalists who were forced to work in conditions of war, active hostilities, and stress.

We held a series of webinars on important aspects of how to do journalism safely during wartime. The speakers were well-known media experts, journalists, activists, and public figures:

  • Tetyana Troshchynska, editor-in-chief of Hromadske radio, spoke about what it was like to be a journalist in wartime. 
  • Serhiy Movchan, an expert from the Ukrainian Helsinki Group, gave advice on documenting Russian war crimes, and spoke about how this will help in future trials against war criminals.
  • Alyona Romaniuk, a media consultant, journalist, and fact-checker, shared her knowledge on how to work with information during the war, what reporters need to know about fakes, how rumors are spread, and how to expose misinformation.

We also understood the importance of cyber defense in the struggle against Russian aggression, so we protected 30 local media from possible DDoS attacks by providing them with software called Deflect. These media outlets were also able to receive  a general check of their digital security and listen to three webinars from Roman Osadchuk,  research analyst at Atlantic Council's DFRLab. He addressed personal and professional data protection, properly setting up personal and work devices, privacy online, and more. In addition, Internews Ukraine digital security expert Pavlo Bielousov spoke about DDoS attacks and how to deal with them.

Separately, we provided psychological consultations for 20 journalists. Our team worked with the Association for Psychological Counseling and Trauma Therapy to conduct 3 webinars and 20 screening sessions for Ukrainian journalists. In addition, the Association's experts helped prepare a mental health guide for media professionals. In total, these mental health materials reached 600,000 viewers.

In our webinars, we discussed witness syndrome and PTSD in journalists, and how journalists can maintain their professionalism, especially while working with people affected by the war. Participants also shared personal experiences.

result

We helped Ukrainian media to get through a turbulent period

In the end, we successfully:

  1. conducted 9 webinars on reporting in wartime, digital security, and mental health attended by more than 500 participants. We later published a thematic guide for journalists;
  2. created informational materials on digital security and best practices for journalists to work safely in the occupied territories;
  3. provided personal protective equipment, cameras, laptops, phones, protective helmets, and much more at a value of almost 420 thousand hryvnias for more than 70 relocated journalists working close to the front line in 8 regions of Ukraine. This allowed them to resume their work in a new place.

Over 28,000 viewers watched an explainer video about the proper war crime documentation based on a lecture by Serhiy Movchan.

Through our special projects' competition, we provided financial support to Ukrainian media and expanded their opportunities to create high-quality multimedia materials. 5 outlets from Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and Kharkiv created and published 72 informational materials about people's lives under occupation or their adaptation to life in frontline zones.

For example, a media project of the Kherson Plus TV channel  was viewed 1,094,373 times. Audiences were captivated by the extraordinary story of the Kherson Robinsons — people who were hiding from the occupation administration in the channel of the Dnipro. A Kherson TV journalist named Gennady lived with his family in the bosom of nature, away from the hustle and bustle of the city. For the people under occupation, fleeing there was a salvation from Russian terror.

Events and News

Event
Antibot: How to Expose Information Manipulation?

16–18 березня у Києві відбудеться тренінг «Антибот: як викривати інформаційні маніпуляції». Участь безкоштовна.

Related projects

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UPGRADING UKRAINE’S MEDIA IN WARTIME

We helped 40 local media outlets boost their positions in the Ukrainian media market, digitalize, and overcome the crisis in the Ukrainian media industry. We conducted 200 expert consultations, provided over UAH 1.6 million in grants, and provided essential upgrades to 3 publications.

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Strong Media — Strong Society

We implemented a comprehensive program to support regional media, with a focus on mentoring, digital security consultations, scholarships, and internships for aspiring journalists.

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Ukrainian Regional Media Guide

The original English-language report on the regional media sphere of Ukraine. It provides a review of over 500 regional publications throughout the entirety of Ukraine.