Support Media that Changes World

The role of Ukrainian media during a full-scale war has undergone fundamental changes. They have ceased to be simply news relayers and have become an instrument of the nation's strategic survival. This is a difficult line between protecting the state in an information war and preserving democratic standards.
What is the role of Ukrainian media during a war?
Today, Ukrainian media hold three key fronts:
Information defense and security: Prompt information about threats (air alerts, missile strike directions, evacuation) literally saves lives. At the same time, it is a counteraction to Russian psychological operations (IPSO) and fake news.
Documenting history and war crimes: Journalists record evidence for future international tribunals. What is a report today will become material against the aggressor tomorrow.
Mirror of society and control of power: Even in conditions of martial law, the media must remain the fourth estate — highlighting corruption and inefficiency, because internal cleansing is critical to our victory.
What should the media do and what should they write about?
The balance of topics has shifted from entertainment content to deep, valuable and applied content:
Human Interest: Stories of soldiers, medics, volunteers, and displaced persons. This supports national solidarity and empathy.
Military-technical expertise and analytics: Society needs a high-quality explanation of what is happening on the front, how new technologies (drones, electronic warfare, robotics) work, and what strategic changes are taking place, without all this "victorious" or, conversely, overly pessimistic noise.
Debunking disinformation (Fact-checking): The daily routine work of checking rumors from anonymous Telegram channels.
Explaining the international context: How do decisions of allies, arms supplies, or geopolitical changes directly affect the lives of Ukrainians.
How should journalists work?
The work of a journalist in Ukraine is currently one of the most dangerous in the world. The main principles of work today:
"Do no harm" is the main rule of journalism. Information should not help the enemy (do not adjust fire, do not reveal the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the movement of equipment or the work of air defense).
Compliance with standards even in a black and white world: It is very easy to slip into a satellite propaganda format. However, high-quality media understand: audience trust is the main asset. If the media starts to constantly embellish reality, people will go to look for the "truth" in anonymous sources.
Digital and physical security:
How to help Ukrainian media survive?
The economic situation for the media in Ukraine is critical. The traditional advertising market has shrunk significantly, and large international grant programs are gradually reducing their volumes compared to 2022–2023. To survive, a comprehensive approach is needed:
Survival models
Source of support
How it works in wartime
Reader support (Crowdfunding)Donations, subscriptions, Patreon/Buy Me a Coffee. Ukrainians are willing to pay for high-quality and honest analytics. This is the best guarantee of the independence of the publication.
International donors and institutions
Grants for special projects, reports from deoccupied territories. It is important to diversify these sources.
Flexibility of formats
Switching to video (YouTube, TikTok) and distributing content where there is an audience, as text traffic on sites is falling and TV is losing reach.
Assistance from the state should not consist in censorship or financing a single narrative, but in creating transparent conditions: ensuring journalists' access to press conferences (accreditation), protecting the rights of media workers, and creating grant programs for regional media, which are often on the verge of closure.
Charity Foundation "Democratic Society", Kyiv, Ukraine.
Our Ukrainian charity non-profit is now working at a charity project for helping media-partners of our non-profit organisation to survive and actively work in war time:
https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/support-media-that-makes-changes/
All information is situated:
http://www.ukrmol.kiev.ua
Fb.me/UkrMolnews
http://www.demsocfund.in.ua
Fb.me/founddemsoc
Project supports our independent media outlets, media-partners of Charity Foundation "Democratic Society", that provides objective and vital information to the communities, especially those suffering from Russia's invasion. Funding provides to our media organizations that conduct training on journalism.
There is a war going on now. Media activity in Ukraine has never been so important. Our correspondents work tirelessly, journalists fight on the information front.
The work of a journalist in wartime is difficult and responsible. Journalists must adhere to safety rules and ethical principles; they perform difficult and responsible work professionally and effectively.
In their work in wartime, journalists must ensure the safety of their activities and have everything necessary to ensure their safety, including a first aid kit and communications equipment.
Press must have the resources to work.
In order for the newspaper to expand the circle of its readers, support for the development of the newspaper is needed to make it better, so that journalists are motivated to work at full strength.
During the war, all state financial resources, as well as the funds of the population, are directed towards producing and purchasing of weapons to defend ourselves for surviving, for military personnel, participating in hostilities, creating a gigantic shortage of funds for refugees and all the civilians.
Our Foundation helps independent mass media and our correspondents have a support in work.
The project support our media, partners of our CF "Democratic Society", one of which is a newspaper "Ukrainian Youth".
Our newspaper "Ukrainian Youth" is read by officials of Ukraine, people's deputies, youth, ordinary people.
Our newspaper provides objective and important information to communities, especially those affected by Russian invasion. It is also supports our media organizations, which stimulate the improvement of professional skills of journalists, cyber and physical safety of journalists, as well as the explaining to journalists their rights and their protection during war.
We support our mass media, which is now in a bad situation during military operations.
Journalists of our editorial office work non-stop in order for our readers to learn the most up-to-date information in the period of war in Ukraine as quickly as possible.
Journalists work with published only true and verified information. Our journalists defend freedom of speech and democratic values.
Project helps to provide the resources to work for our journalists, for the implementation of freedom of transport movement of our journalists, for conducting interviews, attending press-conferences, covering important events, posting articles, purchasing gadgets and journalists equipment. With true and verified information, we don't give invaders a chance in the newsroom of the battle. To resist any kind of propaganda, we support our journalists.
To help media in our country, to help children of refugees to continue getting higher education, develop journalism among children of the refugees, our foundation provides activity in the organization of free tutoring, free practice for students, free internships for students of higher educational institutions in the specialty "journalism", introduction of non-formal education in educational institutions, based on human rights principles, holding cultural and integration events.
Charity Foundation "Democratic Society" provides projects to help students - children of refugees from the war in the journalistic speciality, a project of an aid to the main base for free internship - to our newspaper "Ukrainian Youth".
Internship is included in the process of studying students at universities, and the organization of this internship, tuition, also requires funds.
So in that period we continued to provide aid and support of the newspaper "Ukrainian Youth", which is the main means of media of our Foundation .