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From “Memory Wars” to a Common Future: Overcoming Polarisation in Ukraine

Arena; London School of Economics; Johns Hopkins University, SNF Agora Institute (2021), 95 pp.

"This project has explored the ways in which an independent, public service-spirited media could create content about historical issues that avoids playing into propaganda-driven divides, fosters a more constructive discourse around history and brings Ukrainians into a common national conversation. ... more

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Digital Disinformation: Evidence from Ukraine

Lennart Maschmeyer

Zürich: ETH Zürich, Center for Security Studies (CSS) (2021), 4 pp.

"There is a pervasive fear that information technology enhances the effectiveness of destabilizing disinformation campaigns. Yet evidence from Ukraine, the paradigmatic case of “hybrid war”, indicates this threat is overstated. Rather, traditional media remain far more influential. The prevailin ... more

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Ukraine Country Report. Media Literacy Sector Mapping in Georgia, Latvia, Moldova and Ukraine

Solvita Denisa-Liepniece et al.

Riga: Baltic Centre for Media Excellence (BCME) (2021), 28 pp.

"• A wide range of actors work in the media literacy field, but the lack of strategic policies and coordination creates inconsistencies and sometimes even collisions on the very definition of media literacy and approaches towards the development of media literacy. Future strategic policy documents ... have to take this into account and suggest a consistent approach among diverse actors. • Existing inconsistencies and insufficient coordination of activities should also be addressed by the donors and international organisations that have the capacity to encourage collaborations, and more active exchange of knowledge and best practices. It is also critical to elaborate and set up a mechanism for effective coordination of activities among the different media literacy actors. • Funding of media literacy projects and initiatives remains one of the biggest challenges. Ukrainian civil society organisations predominantly rely on financial support from foreign donors and international organisations. The government of Ukraine should create conditions to attract new actors that would provide financial assistance to media literacy initiatives. Suggesting incentives, including tax rebates, could stimulate businesses to get engaged in media literacy projects. • Development of media literacy policy, approaches and projects should be based on rigorous research of the audiences, both quantitative and qualitative. Both the government and donors should stimulate and support such research. NGOs and academic institutions should develop and design research projects that would help to understand the patterns of media consumption, perception of information and gaps in media literacy among Ukrainian citizens. • There is a need for a more effective monitoring and evaluation system in order to make relevant adjustments to the design of media literacy projects. This concerns both projects implemented by the NGOs and educational institutions. • Promotion of media literacy among a broad audience requires involvement of big TV channels and radio stations, local media, as well as the network of public broadcasting. While there is no consensus among different actors about the engagement of oligarch-owned media into media literacy efforts, the issue should be addressed and discussed by the key stakeholders. • As media education should be continuous, the government has to create appropriate conditions for this in the system of formal and informal education." (Conclusions, page 26) more

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Strengthening Public Interest in Ukraine’s Media Sector

Anna Korbut

London: Chatham House, Royal Institute of International Affairs (2021), 37 pp.

"The media environment in Ukraine is complex, diverse and competitive. Most of the country’s outlets are privately owned by high-profile Ukrainians who tend to use them for political influence. However, a small number of media organizations uphold high standards of professionalism and integrity an ... d are vital for shaping domestic political and social debate. These are mostly in print and online but also include some broadcasters, such as Suspilne, and international donor-funded multimedia platforms. Ukraine has a vibrant community of media experts, activists and NGOs that monitor and analyse the sector. These individuals and organizations create development initiatives, advocate reforms and, to a certain extent, perform self-regulatory functions. Platforms for discussions among media professionals are contributing to an evolving industry culture. But they face challenges including limited authority to implement changes; unsustainable funding, often reliant on international donors; and a lack of consensus on ethical and quality standards within the media community. Many outlets provide content for free and domestic audiences are accustomed to this practice. However, there are efforts in Ukraine to encourage consumers to pay for quality content. From early 2020, the biggest media organizations began restricting free access to their output. Meanwhile, smaller independent media are offering subscription and membership models to improve their economic sustainability. The COVID-19 crisis has pushed media organizations to be more proactive in creating business models that do not solely rely on advertising. Ukraine’s media landscape is threatened by the disruption of traditional information delivery methods and consumption patterns; fake news and disinformation; a changing media economy; competition from social media and tech giants; and political turbulence and hostile actors, particularly Russia. Reforms in media regulation – in addition to those in the judiciary and law enforcement agencies – could limit the influence of media owners and protect outlets from political actors determined to attack journalists or manipulate content. Furthermore, support for sustainable revenue models, technological capacity-building and better brand recognition could focus on independent outlets that lack the resources to compete with oligarch-owned media. Improved media literacy efforts are also important for creating long-term audience demand for quality content." (Summary, page 4) more

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The Politics of Authenticity and Populist Discourses: Media and Education in Brazil, India and Ukraine

Christoph Kohl, Barbara Christophe, Heike Liebau, Achim Saupe (eds.)

Cham: Palgrave Macmillan (2021), viii, 240 pp.

"Starting from the assumption that media play a crucial role for populist discourses of authenticity, the volume moves beyond conventional and social media by expanding its focus to media in formal education, notably school textbooks and curricula. These two particular media formats lastingly shape ... more

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Tweeting Out Surveys to Pro-Ukraine Influencers: Exploring the Potential for Enlisting Support in the Information Fight Against Russia

Todd C. Helmus, Krystyna Marcinek, Julia Nething, Danielle Schlang, Ryan Andrew Brown

RAND Corporation (2021), 23 pp.

"This study used Twitter advertisements to solicit survey participation from the most-influential members of pro-Ukraine and pro-Russia communities of Twitter users identified in an analysis of 25 million Russian language tweets emanating from Eastern Europe. Survey results suggest that pro-Ukraine ... more

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Ukraine: Media Consumption and Audience Perceptions Research

Thomson Reuters Foundation (2021), 51 pp.

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General Overview and Recommendations. Media Literacy Sector Mapping in Georgia, Latvia, Moldova and Ukraine

Riga: Baltic Centre for Media Excellence (BCME) (2021), 12 pp.

"The Missing Strategic Holistic Approach Every selected country is going through a process of securitization of the media literacy as part of national security and defence. These changes were made in response to military and informational aggression from Russia, however, each faces the threat at a d ... ifferent scale. In all countries, there is a need for a holistic strategic approach to media literacy. At the same time, this approach has developed at different rates in each country. Nevertheless, in each country there are attempts or plans to create systemic policy with action plans. The main obstacles, however, can be summed up in the following ways: the lack of a holistic vision and evidence-based approach; missing a joint understanding and definition of the role of media literacy in society; low level institutional coordination and cooperation; a lack of resources; and a lack of political will to define and prioritise selected vulnerable groups, including minorities. Government Institutions: Trust, Transparency and the Required Coordination and Cooperation Different approaches are implemented in designing institutional leadership in each country. In Ukraine and Georgia, there are attempts to establish consolidating bodies (separated or based on Ministries). In Latvia and Moldova, there are no clear publicly available strategies for development. Among the most common institutional implementers in all countries are the Ministries responsible for education, culture and digital technologies and transformation. In each country there are attempts (at different stages of implementation) to create governmental agencies and/or platforms to combine media literacy initiatives and activities. At the same time, a strong connection to the government raises concerns within the NGO community, especially in countries with high levels of corruption. There is a clear need for more trust, based on transparency between state and non-state actors. As a result of a missing strategic approach, there are problems with government related cross-institutional cooperation - among ministries, regulators and governmental agencies in every country. While strategic documents underline the priority of critical media literacy and outline the skills needed to evaluate information for well-informed decision making, the dominant approach in all four countries, is for certain government bodies to focus on digital literacies and technical skills, and not on critical thinking. Non-Governmental and International Organisations: Setting the Agenda This lack of understanding, coordination and cooperation among government structures, accompanied by the dominance and importance of non-governmental actors, creates an imbalance in setting the agenda. NGOs mostly get financial resources from international organisations and foreign actors. Donors and supporters through requesting specific projects, developing calls and competing initiatives are transforming the media literacy environment at the AAA level - by selecting actors, defining audiences and endorsing activities. The current agendas of international supporters and donors are aimed to fill gaps - to support the non-governmental community and to create projects for minorities, also in minority languages. However, international organisations need to evaluate interventions, and they need to come up with projects adapted for local audiences, as well as demonstrate successful examples to other non-governmental partners in other countries." (General findings, pages 4-5) more

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Media and Freedom of Expression

International Reports (Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung), volume 37, issue 3 (2021), pp. 2-99

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Vibrant Information Barometer: Europe & Eurasia

Washington, DC: IREX (2021), 219 pp.

"The 2021 Europe & Eurasia Vibrant Information Barometer (VIBE) publication stands on the shoulders of IREX’s almost 20 years of the Media Sustainability Index (MSI), which was last published in 2019. Through VIBE, IREX aims to capture a modern era where many people around the world are simultaneo ... more

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Why Conspirational Propaganda Works and What We Can Do About It: Audience Vulnerability and Resistance to Anti-Western, Pro-Kremlin Disinformation in Ukraine

Peter Pomerantsev et al.

London School of Economics and Political Science; Internews Ukraine; Cardiff University, Crime and Security Research Institute (2021), 45 pp.

"The most effective propaganda resonates with audiences’ underlying worldviews and personal experiences. In order to fight it, one has to understand the mindsets that it preys on. This paper sets out to do exactly that. We first track a set of Kremlin-aligned propaganda narratives across Ukrainian ... more

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The Long Tail of Influence Operations: A Case Study on News Front

Elise Thomas

London: Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) (2021), 17 pp.

"This case study examines two websites and two blogging accounts which appear to be linked to News Front, a Crimean-based news organisation previously accused of being a source of pro-Kremlin disinformation and influence operations. The sites and accounts shared stories and images in many cases iden ... more

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There Can be Only One Truth: Ideological Segregation and Online News Communities in Ukraine

Aleksandra Urman, Mykola Makhortykh

Global Media and Communication, volume 17, issue 2 (2021), pp. 167-187

"The paper examines ideological segregation among Ukrainian users in online environments, using as a case study partisan news communities on Vkontakte, the largest online platform in post-communist states. Its findings suggest that despite their insignificant numbers, partisan news communities attra ... more

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The 10 Most Under-Reported Humanitarian Crises of 2020

Care International (2021), 25 pp.

"The analysis is based on online media coverage in five languages throughout the year. CARE sees a concerning trend of crises being neglected year after year. Six out of the ten crises are located on the African continent. The Central African Republic has appeared in the ranking for five consecutive ... more

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How to turnaround a nonprofit media, start earning and rebuild the entire organization: hromadske transformation case study
Key Guides

Iuliia Bankova, Jakub Parusinski

Kyiv: Hromadske (2020), 31 pp.

"In early 2020 hromadske reached a crisis point. Despite many successes achieved over 7 years of existence the organization was struggling motivation was low, staff turnover was high, previously set goals seemed irrelevant or unrealistic. The path forward was unclear. From March to September 2020 hr ... more

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Propaganda by Proxy: Ukrainian Oligarchs, TV and Russia's Influence

Jakob Hedenskog, Mattias Hjelm

Stockholm: FOI, Swedish Defence Research Agency (2020), 4 pp.

"The issues of media ownership and Russian propaganda messaging remain an ongoing concern in Ukraine. Of the top 20 most-viewed TV channels in the country, almost all belong to the same people who top the list of Ukraine’s wealthiest oligarchs – Rinat Akhmetov, Viktor Pinchuk, Dmytro Firtash, Se ... more

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Fake News und Desinformation: Herausforderungen für die vernetzte Gesellschaft und die empirische Forschung

Ralf Hohlfeld, Michael Harnischmacher, Elfi Heinke, Lea Sophia Lehner, Michael Sengl (eds.)

Baden-Baden: Nomos (2020), 361 pp.

"Desinformation ist eine Konstante der politischen Kommunikation. Doch mit der Wahl Donald Trumps zum Präsidenten der Vereinigten Staaten und der Brexit-Abstimmung in Großbritannien erhielten bewusst lancierte Falschnachrichten eine neue gesellschaftliche Bedeutung. Denn nun wurde sichtbar, welche ... more

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Language of Conflict: Discourses of the Ukrainian Crisis

Natalia Knoblock (ed.)

London et al.: Bloomsbury Academic (2020), x, 279 pp.

"Exploring the ways in which language and conflict are intertwined and interrelated, this book examines the changes that have taken place in the public discourse of the Ukraine and Russia since 2014 and the beginning of the 'Ukrainian Crisis.' Through analysis of the narratives constructed by differ ... more

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Fake News Addicts: How Disinformation and its Mongers Strive in Ukraine 2020

Andriy Yurichko

Potsdam: Friedrich Naumann Foundation (2020), 10 pp.

"As we can see, disinformation can be spread by ordinary responsible individuals with good intentions as well as by, dare I say, entire bot nations consisting of millions of active bot accounts that reach all possible audiences of any age, gender, and interests. And for any audiences that haven't be ... more

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Gender Aspects of Employment and Career in the Media Sector of Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, Russia and Ukraine: Comparative Analysis

Stockholm; Kalmar: Fojo Media Institute (2020), 28 pp.

"Since 2016, Fojo Media Institute, together with local partners, has investigated media landscapes in Eastern Europe from a gender perspective, to find out how women and men in the industry perceive their work life: What are their options to have influence and a fulfilling career? What are the diffe ... more

How to turnaround a nonprofit media, start earning and rebuild the entire organization: hromadske transformation case study Key Guides

How to turnaround a nonprofit media, start earning and rebuild the entire organization: hromadske transformation case study
Key Guides