Bilozerska’s victory turned sour and a scandal ensued in the UaNet soon after Ukrainian journalist Mustafa Nayyem, a member of The Bobs’ international jury panel this year, announced [uk] the results of the contest on his Facebook page. Andriy Manchuk, editor-in-chief of the left-wing Ukrainian online publication Liva.com.ua, contacted [ru] Nayyem almost immediately, alerting him to Bilozerska’s views on certain political and social issues, and expressing concern that she had been chosen “to represent Ukraine at ‘a global blog contest’.”
Global Voices: Is Ukrainian right-wing blogger eligible for the Bobs 2013 award?
Ukraine was having a trouble-free debut at this year's The Bobs, Deutsche Welle's international blogger contest, until Olena Bilozerska's Ukrainian-language LiveJournal blog won 46 percent of user votes and became the User Winner in the Best Blog Ukrainian nomination.
