What’s Happening in Ukraine?:
Resources and Advice for Reliable English-Language News
The Russian-Ukrainian war has developed and continues to develop quickly. Finding reliable, trustworthy, and up-to-date information about the events on the ground can feel overwhelming and difficult. This article is intended as a resource to help English speakers navigate the current information landscape about the war.
This resource will most likely be edited and updated. If you want to contribute to this list, please contact Aspen Pflughoeft via email (aspen.pflughoeft at gmail.com) or social media.
19 Places for Reliable News on Ukraine
For live news updates on developments in Ukraine:
- Kyiv Independent — This is an independent newsroom in Kyiv, Ukraine, who is committed to staying and reporting on the ground. Their website is https://kyivindependent.com/. Their most up-to-date coverage is on their Twitter account (@KyivIndependent) or their Telegram channel (https://t.co/oQYL8gefBx).
- Ukraine War News — Run by Ukrainian students at University College London, this Telegram channel (https://t.me/ukrainewarenglish) is translating and mapping updates from other Ukrainian sources. Links to original sources are provided alongside the translations.
- NEXTA — This is Belarusian media outlet that primarily provides information via their Telegram channel (t.me/nexta_tv) and Twitter (@nexta_tv)
- ELINT News — This is an independent group based in the U.K. that focuses on in-depth coverage of geopolitical events. They use Twitter as their primary platform (@ELINTNews).
- Centre for Information Resilience — This independent, non-profit has been mapping verified incidents in Ukraine. The live map is viewable here (the desktop view is best). More information is shared on their Twitter account (@Cen4InfoRes)
Telegram chats and channels are becoming a significant place for up-to-date information because of the security of the platform. Join Telegram through this link.
For the experiences of Ukrainians on the ground:
- Julia Tymoshenko — a recent graduate currently in Ukraine; Instagram @yulia_tymosha
- Vice World News — a reliable source in general, Vice’s Instagram account (@viceworldnews) has prioritized photojournalism from on-the-ground in Ukraine
For analysis about what’s happening:
For Twitter lists and accounts on the topic:
- Russia-Ukraine Crisis for “Expert analysis and reporting on the crisis in Ukraine”
- 2022 Ukraine Crisis for “Reporters and analysts tweeting on Ukraine crisis”
- Ukraine and Russia/E. Europe News; both lists managed by Canadian journalist Nick Ashdown
- Ukraine for “Ukrainian accounts, journalists, news orgs, foreign journalists in or near Ukraine & OSINT”
- Russia Ukraine 2022 for “Sources to check continuously during the 2022 Ukraine crisis”
3 Tips on Finding and Verifying News Information
#1: Start with a reliable news aggregation platform
In general, Google News provides a structured starting point for following major news headlines and for aggregating coverage from newsrooms around the world. They have a website and app that comes pre-downloaded on some phones. On the desktop website, Google News has a column to the far right dedicated to fact-checking reports.
Google also has a Fact Check Explorer that searches all major fact-checking websites.
#2: Evaluate the source of the information
Who is sharing this information? What background information can you find about this person, account, or profile?
How does the source know this information? Do they have any credibility? What makes them authoritative for writing or speaking about this?
Has this information also been shared on any trusted news sites? Cross-checking information from an uncertain source is valuable in evaluating its reliability.
#3: Verify photos and videos before re-sharing them
Unless the photo or video already comes from a verified source, verifying visual content is essential to avoid sharing misinformation. Before re-sharing visual content, evaluate the content with a few key questions: Where was this taken? When was it taken? Who originally took this? Google also has a Reverse Image search that can be used to try and find the original source of a photo.
If you can’t verify those details, the content may not be reliable to share.
Additional notes on sharing visual content:
- Sharing graphic photos and videos (e.g., shootings, places after shootings, missile attacks) may be triggering for others.
- Any visual content regarding the Ukrainian army and/or other security personnel should be subjected to more rigorous verification processes before sharing the content, to more rigorous considerations of the rationale behind sharing the content, and to more rigorous evaluation processes as to the implications and risks of sharing the content.
These tips were based on guides from The Morning Brew, LexisNexis, and Newmark J-School.
