Official position/function in relation to the conflict

Meduza is a privately held online media outlet. The editorial office is located in Latvia but consists entirely of Russian-speaking authors. Created in 2014 by immigrants from Lenta.ru. After creation, it quickly became a popular website. In October 2019, it ranked first in the top 30 most cited Russian Internet resources. Meduza is a news aggregator and conducts its own investigations, some of which have become famous.

In its Editorial Code, Meduza advocates the objectivity and impartiality of journalism, but its materials have repeatedly found themselves in the center of scandals. Perhaps the loudest of them is connected with the case of the non-existent “underground organization ‘Network’.”. Meduza published material about the involvement of the arrested persons in the cases of murder, thereby actually taking the side of the prosecution. Subsequently, the material was analyzed in detail and criticized by the opposition media, accusing the media of bias and publishing unverified data. However, the dirty deed was done: Meduza’s article was noticed and used in their own interests by the propagandist media. This and other scandals (in particular, the sexual harassment involving its editor) negatively affected Meduza’s reputation as a free and impartial media.

The position of the publication in relation to the military conflict in Donbas can be called balanced and neutral. The topic of Donbas does not rank first among the editorial information priorities. Nevertheless, Meduza generally honestly and objectively reports about the events and the humanitarian situation in Donbas, covers the complex process of a peaceful settlement, reports efforts of the Ukrainian government, and actively covers the MH17 case.