With the development of online means of disseminating information, including social networks, traditional filters in the form of, for example, media editorial offices have disappeared. Nowadays, anyone with a smartphone or PC becomes a media outlet.

According to the results of the survey “DEMOCRACY, CITIZENS’ RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS, AND MEDIA CONSUMPTION IN TIMES OF WAR” conducted in July 2022 by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology at the request of the civil network “OPORA”, we see the following.

For the first time, social media became the main source of information for Ukrainians, overtaking the traditional leader, television.
At the same time, Ukrainians continue to trust television much more, but new challenges, such as the need to get the information they need quickly, are pushing them toward social media.
Despite all the warnings, Telegram is by far the leader among social networks.
Due to the lack of time and extreme conditions, short videos and short informational messages are the most popular.
Viber is a confident leader in personal communication. There are many myths about this messenger, in particular about its Russianness, but the truth is that it has never been Russian and is now owned by the Japanese investment fund rakuten.
is another indicator that shows that Ukrainians have much more confidence in television, especially in the only telethon.
It is worth noting that Ukrainians are in favor of freedom of speech and, at the same time, the right of the state to control information in times of war, i.e., to restrict this freedom of speech.
More than 50% of Ukrainians feel able to verify information, but want the state to fight fakes and propaganda.

These results clearly demonstrate that freedom of speech is an important value for Ukrainians. However, understanding the situation in the country and facing the manifestations of Russian propaganda, citizens want the state to perform some of the content filtering functions for them (although more than 50% of citizens consider themselves capable of distinguishing fake from truth).

The dominance of Telegram channels as a source of information proves that traditional information formats, from television to online media, are losing relevance and are not keeping up with the development of technology and society. Their popularity is not due to trust, but mainly to the convenient format of receiving information.

The main result of this survey is that Ukrainians desperately need a national-level training program on media literacy and information hygiene.

Read more about this and the basics of information hygiene in Yuriy Goncharenko’s lecture “On Information Hygiene and its Role in the Modern World. A View from a Country at War” and subsequent articles:

recording a live broadcast of the lecture

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Автор: Юрій Гончаренко

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