Ukraine NOW recognized as the only Telegram channel that fully adheres to professional standards: Research

Telegram channel «Ukraine NOW» is the only one among non-institutionalized Telegram channels in Ukraine that fully adheres to professional standards, in particular, the standard of reliability. This is evidenced by the results of the study «How non-institutionalized telegram news channels of the Ukrainian segment function and gain the audience» conducted by the Ukrainian Media and Communication Institute.

«Only the «Ukraine NOW» channel fully adhered to professional standards, in particular, the standard of reliability, in the sample. The remaining analyzed channels partially or not at all referred to information sources,» the study says. 

«Ukraine NOW» runed by the Institute of Cognitive Modeling in cooperation with the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine has entered the top 10 most important channels for Ukrainians.

Researchers emphasize that in terms of agenda and style, «Ukraine NOW» was more like a quality media channel. «In its editorial policy, the channel focused on international news related to Ukraine and had high-quality content. «Ukraine NOW» also became the leader among channels of other thematic categories. It was reposted (or referenced) by 171 popular Telegram channels in Ukraine in the first two weeks of the war,» the authors of the study state.

«From the first day of the full-scale invasion, the Institute of Cognitive Modeling has been on the information defense of Ukraine. We had a system developed since the pandemic, so we instantly transformed all our resources and directed them to combat disinformation by preventing it from entering our sources. It is better to let the news be released 15 minutes later, but 100% reliable. For us it was never about hype, but about being systemic. And we are very pleased that the work of our large team had positive references from colleagues in such a deep and professional study,» said Viktor Berezenko, founder of the Institute of Cognitive Modeling.

The study also indicates that «Ukraine NOW» is the only channel that spread no TV stories from Russian propaganda television.

In February 2022, the Institute of Cognitive Modeling transformed the Telegram and Viber communities «Coronavirus_info» created three years ago to counter the coronavirus pandemic, into operative channels for promptly informing Ukrainians about the situation in the country «Ukraine NOW» and «Kraina_info».

 For the analysis, the Ukrainian Media and Communication Institute selected the top 10 non-institutionalized (i.e., not created by the editorial offices of traditional and online media) Telegram channels of the Ukrainian segment in the TGStat rating.