Meduza's statement on the advertising campaign and the Ukrainian community's reaction
In 2025, Meduza launched an advertising campaign to expand our international audience and raise awareness of our crowdfunding efforts. Meduza is facing severe financial challenges, and our organization’s survival depends on the results of our crowdfunding.
The campaign was developed pro bono by the Berlin-based agency Lure. It tells the story of the Kremlin’s efforts to silence our newsroom. It also features photos and videos taken in Ukraine during the war. Since the first day of the full-scale invasion, the war has been Meduza’s central focus. The vast majority of our articles are devoted to the war. We condemn this criminal and violent invasion, hold Russia fully responsible for starting the war, and do everything in our power to help bring it to an end.
The content for the video was selected with care and in full compliance with legal requirements. Nevertheless, it included images of Ukrainians who had not given permission for their use. This was a mistake, and we deeply regret it.
We apologize to everyone negatively affected by our advertising campaign. We never intended to cause harm, especially to those who have suffered from Russian aggression, and we are truly sorry.
On the morning of February 2, together with Lure, we made a decision to halt the campaign.
Meduza