The Youtube Sotnia Covers Events In Ukraine Filling The Information Gap Ignored By The Government

A video called I Am A Ukrainian produced by three Ukrainian students covering events in Ukraine for the world has set a record for the Ukrainian YouTube segment — 8 mln. views. The video explains in simple words what brought Ukrainians to Maidan, why people have been protesting for months and what exactly made them join street protests.

‘Please help us — we have freedom in our hearts. Help us become free. There is a way you can help: talk to your friends, your government, tell them what is happening in Ukraine and ask them to support us’, says Yulia Marushevska in the video.

She tells that the video’s popularity can be explained by the lack of Ukrainian presence on the internet and the lack of information about events in Ukraine: ‘Popularity of the video is a result of those tragic events and the lack of information about developments in Ukraine. If there were more information on the internet the video would never become so popular. Ukraine is still a terra incognita and I urge you to fill in the information gap about Ukraine.’

Actually videos created by ordinary enthusiasts to tell the world about events in Ukraine are filling the gap of consistent coverage ignored by the government. The group named Youtube Sotnia, the term jokingly coined by journalists, is the society’s reaction to misunderstanding and lack of coverage of Ukrainian events and result of active stance taken by Ukrainian youth who want to be involved in the public awareness campaign under conditions of insufficient advocacy campaign of Ukrainian government.

Another video created by the Civil Sector of Maidan called Thank You Dear World is a music video where activists sing a song of gratitude to those who supported their struggle all over the world.

Daria Ustymenko, one of the creators of Thank You Dear World video:  ‘We wanted to thank everyone who supported us… More than 150 people participated in the filming at Maidan and held banners with thank you words written in different languages’.