Foreign journalists in Ukraine say they either do not know about the United News telethon or do not use it as a source of information for professional purposes, according to a survey conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) and the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security.

According to an analytical report based on the results of the survey, 58% of the journalists surveyed indicated that they did not know about the United News telethon at all.

Among those media workers who were familiar with the informational telethon project, only a few watched it more or less regularly, and none reported using it as a source of information for professional purposes.

"Among the main shortcomings, they noted that propaganda often outweighs information in the content, insufficient selection of guests in the studio. Respondents are also worried about censorship in the marathon — the absence of representatives of opposition channels and guests with an alternative opinion among the participants, control over the project by the Office of the President. The relatively low quality of non-informational programs was also noted," the report says.

Among the benefits, respondents noted that the marathon is an important official source of information for Ukrainians and, thanks to the participation of several TV channels, can reach and convey information to a much larger audience.

The survey was conducted in September-December 2022 using the method of personal interviews among foreign media journalists who visited Ukraine at least once after February 24, 2022 and published at least one material about the war in Ukraine. Some 55 respondents (reporters and foreign media correspondents) were interviewed, representing 28 countries, as well as five Ukrainian fixers who had experience working with foreign journalists in Ukraine. It is noted that most of the respondents were representatives of the G7 countries and countries neighboring Ukraine.

The KIIS emphasized that the study is not representative of all representatives of foreign media who work in Ukraine, and expresses the opinion of only those who took part in it.