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🇸🇪 Sweden /Culture & Society

Many Ukrainians view centralized news broadcasts as state propaganda, favoring social media

From Dagens Nyheter · () Swedish

Translated from Swedish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • A significant majority of Ukrainians (86%) now primarily receive their news through social media, a shift from pre-war habits, with 37% relying exclusively on these platforms.
  • This trend is partly driven by the centralization of news broadcasts into a government-friendly 'telemarathon' format since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, which critics argue resembles state propaganda.
  • Independent journalists face financial and safety challenges, lamenting that support is directed towards the 'telemarathon' rather than investigative journalism, even as the EU and press freedom organizations urge Ukraine to decentralize its media landscape.

In Ukraine, the media landscape is undergoing a profound transformation, as highlighted by Sanna Torén Björling in Dagens Nyheter. The war has dramatically altered how Ukrainians consume information, with social media platforms like Telegram now serving as the primary news source for a vast majority, eclipsing traditional television broadcasts. This shift is not merely a matter of changing habits; it's a direct response to the government's decision to centralize news under a unified 'telemarathon' format shortly after Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022.

Ukrainians live on their social media and reject the government-friendly news on TV channels.

· Sanna Torén BjörlingDescribing the shift in Ukrainian news consumption habits.

While the stated aim was to combat disinformation, this move has drawn significant criticism. Many Ukrainians, and independent journalists within the country, liken the unified broadcasts to state propaganda. This perception is particularly concerning for a nation aspiring to join the EU, as it raises questions about media freedom and democratic standards. The article points out that organizations like Reporters Without Borders have also voiced concerns, urging Ukraine to dismantle this centralized model and restore a pluralistic media environment. The EU Commission itself has issued a stern report in 2024 calling for a relaxation of these controls.

Many Ukrainians liken the broadcasts to a form of state propaganda.

· Sanna Torén BjörlingReflecting the critical view of the centralized news format among the Ukrainian population.

The challenges faced by independent journalists are stark. They operate under difficult financial and dangerous conditions, yet their pleas for support are often overlooked as state resources are channeled into the 'telemarathon.' This situation creates a dilemma: while the government aims to control the narrative in a time of war, it risks alienating its own population and undermining the very democratic values it seeks to uphold. As Björling notes, rebuilding public trust in media, once eroded, is a long and arduous process, suggesting that even if the 'telemarathon' model is eventually dismantled, the ingrained media habits of Ukrainians may not revert to their pre-war patterns.

Independent journalists I speak with use words like 'shameful' and think the TV control is embarrassing for Ukraine.

· Sanna Torén BjörlingHighlighting the sentiment among Ukrainian journalists regarding media control.
About this summary

Originally published by Dagens Nyheter in Swedish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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