FREEDOM in July: more than 90% of content viewed from abroad, Russian cities in the top and documentary projects about the Ukrainian military

Since March 2022, the total number of views for content under the FREEDOM brand on digital platforms has exceeded 11 billion in July. The audience became more interested in the topic of international support for Ukraine by the United States in the fight against Russian aggression, the successes of Ukrainian athletes at the Olympics, the isolation of Russian sports, and the strengthening of crisis phenomena in Russia over the course of the month.

Moscow, St. Petersburg, Tashkent, Sochi, and Krasnodar were the cities that received the most FREEDOM views on YouTube in July. 90,1 % of views of content of YouTube-channels of Ukrainian foreign broadcasting FREEDOM and FREEDOM.LIVE – from abroad, 56,3 % – from the Russian Federation. Total number of views of content under FREEDOM brand on various digital-platforms of SE “The International Broadcasting Multimedia Platform of Ukraine” (YouTube, Facebook, Telegram, X, TikTok) and on platforms of partners has made 11 billion*, in July – 188,3 million.

Russian-speaking viewers remain steadily interested in the statements of the President of Ukraine. Thus, the fragment of Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s interview that Russia without Ukraine and Belarus will never be an empire, so Putin will fight to the last for the full occupation of Ukraine, received the most views during the month – 1.6 million, of which 93.5% were from abroad: 53.9% – from Russia, 11.1% – from Uzbekistan, 5.5% – from Kazakhstan, 3.9% – from Kyrgyzstan.

The coverage of events that proved the immutability of international support for Ukraine was highly emphasized. US President Joe Biden’s statement that Ukraine can stop Russian aggression despite the fact that Putin wants to occupy it completely, destroy our democracy, culture and erase Ukraine as an independent state from the world map received 990,000 views: 93.5 % from abroad in particular, 51.3 % from Russia, 12.2 % from Uzbekistan, 5.5 % from Kazakhstan and 4.5 % from Kyrgyzstan.

The 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, which dealt with the development of Ukrainian sports despite the war and the international isolation of Russian and Belarusian sports, was the main topic of discussion for the FREEDOM audience in July. The story about the opening of the Olympics and participation of 140 Ukrainian athletes became one of the top stories in July. It took 570 000 views, of which 95.4 % were from abroad: 59.9 % from Russia, 5.9 % from Kazakhstan, 3.4 % from Belarus, and 3.1 % from Uzbekistan.

The Olympic theme in the context of the Olympic Games was supplemented by the July issue of the project “Crisis of Putin’s Russia “ (the authors of which analyze why and what kind of disaster racism and Putinism will turn out for the Russian Federation) about the importance of countering the sports propaganda of the Russian Federation in the international arena. The series ‘Crises of Putin’s Russia’ also included issues on the most pessimistic scenario of Russia’s development – to turn into North Korea, cooperation with which deepened during the war and on the need to reform international institutions and organizations, in particular the UN Security Council, from the tribunes of which Russia continues to promote its propaganda.

Russian-speaking audiences of FREEDOM consistently focus on the topic of the crisis in Russia, particularly the corruption of the Russian elite. So the next issue of the project ‘Secret life of matryoshka doll’ about elite real estate of top Russian propagandists on a background of miserable payments of the majority of Russians who have to save for decades on own habitation has viewed 314 000 times, from which 94 % of views from abroad (75,8 % – from Russia, 2,9 % – from Belarus, 1,5 % – from Germany, 1,4 % – from Kazakhstan).

The Russian version of the ‘SURVIVORS’ three series documentary, which tells the story of indomitable Ukrainian soldiers who were captured, suffered serious injuries, and the doctors who saved their lives, was presented by FREEDOM in July. The film was ordered by the State Enterprise “The International Broadcasting Multimedia Platform of Ukraine”.

Within a month, within the framework of the project on indigenous peoples of the Russian Federation “News of Free Peoples,” programs were released on the radicalization of anti-Muslim sentiments among Russians after the terrorist attacks in Moscow and Dagestan; inaction of authorities at all levels during the ecological disaster in Buryatia due to large-scale forest fires and humanitarian catastrophe in the near-fountain Belgorod region due to constant fighting, as well as about mass protests of residents of Dagestan and other regions due to systematic power cuts. In July the total coverage of the project on YouTube channels FREEDOM and FREEDOM. LIFE channels was 108.7 thousand views.

In July, the total coverage of the channel’s Telegram accounts – FREEDOM and FREEDOM. LIFE was 11 million, and FREEDOM views on the TikTok platform reached 1.8 million per month.

*General indicators on all digital-platforms (YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, Telegram) of SE “The International Broadcasting Multimedia Platform of Ukraine” and on platforms of partners – the Ukrainian media groups on which the content under FREEDOM brand comes out.

**Note Data given in the material as of July 31, 2024. Data sources: analytical tools of digital platforms; Google Analytics; YouTube Studio channel FREEDOM and partners.

FREEDOM is a channel of the Ukrainian state foreign broadcasting, aimed at Russian-speaking viewers outside Ukraine. FREEDOM is an instrument of destruction of Russian propaganda and a source of true information about Ukraine for Russian-speaking audience abroad. Outside of Ukraine FREEDOM is available via satellite, in cable, DTH, IPTV networks and on ott-platforms. Also FREEDOM can be viewed all over the world on the digital platforms of SE “The International Broadcasting Multimedia Platform of Ukraine” and Ukrainian media group-partners of the channel – 1+1 media, Starlight Media, Inter Media Group.

The digital platforms broadcasting FREEDOM:  

YouTube FREEDОМ website FREEDОМ Агрегатор FREEDОМ Facebook TikTok Telegram

YouTube UNІАN  YouTube Groshi YouTube ТСН YouTube 1+1

YouTube ICTV YouTube ІНТЕР