Standing as a speaker on the stage at this year’s Web Summit in Lisbon (the biggest tech & innovation summit in the world with 71,000+ attendees), I felt a profound sense of responsibility considering that I was representing Kyiv Post, Ukraine’s oldest and most trusted English-language newspaper, and by extension Ukraine, a nation fighting for survival – not only on the battlefield, but also in the information space.
It is no exaggeration to say that truth has become a front line. And journalists, whether we like it or not, have become soldiers in a war where facts are under constant fire.
This year, I joined four outstanding global journalists from Germany, Portugal, and Brazil on a panel titled “Facts Under Fire.” The moderator opened with a pointed question to me:
“Is Russian disinformation the biggest threat you deal with?”
The obvious answer is yes. For decades, the Kremlin has weaponized disinformation, not necessarily by changing the story, but by complicating it so much that the truth becomes blurred. Russian disinformation is designed to fog reality – to confuse people to the point where they begin to question what is real.
But I told the audience something that might make some uncomfortable: The bigger threat right now isn’t only Moscow. It’s the Western mainstream media unknowingly amplifying Russian narratives.
At Kyiv Post, we’ve increasingly seen fabricated storylines – planted by Russian channels – make their way into reputable outlets in the United States and Europe. Suddenly, conspiracy theories about President Zelensky buying exotic cars and villas or Ukrainian officials “swimming in American billions” appear on primetime television.
These narratives are not only false – they’re corrosive.
When reporters on the ground in Ukraine publish firsthand, sourced, verifiable information, we sometimes find ourselves questioned or even accused of state-sponsored propaganda – not because our reporting is weak, but because it doesn’t match what a major Western network claimed the night before.
So now we fight on two fronts: Russian propaganda and Western misinformation on verifiable facts. And in this sense, yes – Russia is winning battles it should never win.
This confusion is driving audiences to social media, where algorithms replace editorial standards. People scroll endlessly, searching for “authenticity” among podcasts, bloggers, livestreams, and influencers. But what they find instead is what I call “social slop” – a noisy, chaotic feed where truth competes with outrage, speculation, and AI-generated nonsense.
And yet, in this messy chaotic landscape, journalism becomes even more vital.
The future of media is already here – and it’s complicated
On the eve of the opening ceremony, the Web Summit’s inaugural Future of Media Summit was held. I sat alongside global Chief Editors and CEOs from major news networks such as Sky News, The Guardian, The New York Times, Newsweek, and TIME. Together, we attempted to forecast where our industry is heading. The unspoken truth in the room was this: journalism is undergoing the most rapid transformation in its modern history.
The pressure on newsroom leaders is intense. I, as the CEO, together with our Chief Editor Bohdan Nahaylo, understand we must ensure that our journalists can focus on the work – on the ground, in dangerous places, reporting real stories – without worrying about how they’ll make ends meet. That means we need to keep innovating.
Two years ago, I could not have imagined that ChatGPT and other AI tools would become essential to speeding up breaking news production or supporting research. I once resisted any use of AI in the newsroom or in Kyiv Post as a whole; I felt it threatened the integrity of the work and our mission.
But then I saw how it could streamline routine tasks and free our journalists to concentrate on what AI cannot do: be present on the front lines, interview prisoners who had just been released from Russian captivity, document the aftermath of missile strikes, etc.
The line between innovation and eroding trust is razor-thin.
AI has limits – but it also has value.
We began experimenting cautiously:
- AI-assisted video scripts
- AI voiceovers for explainer videos
- Automated summaries and video edits
And yes, I’ll admit that I even quietly tested an AI-generated presenter out of curiosity. The results were shockingly realistic – and deeply uncomfortable. The line between innovation and eroding trust is razor-thin.
But AI must serve journalism, not replace it. It must strengthen transparency, not distort it. It must cut through ‘social slop’ – not add to it.
Behind closed doors: The honest conversations
One of the most meaningful moments of the week wasn’t on stage. It was a private, invite-only supper with 20 of the world’s leading figures in media and news. Without cameras or microphones, we spoke openly about our challenges: declining trust, rising costs, dangerous working environments, social media chaos, and how AI is reshaping everything we do.
Journalism is the guardrail keeping society from veering off the cliff.
Despite our differences – geographic, political, cultural – one theme united us: the fight for truth is becoming harder, but more essential than ever.
And it was during these conversations that I found myself explaining something I believe deeply: Journalism is the guardrail keeping society from veering off the cliff.
Even for people like me – an advertising veteran turned media CEO, there are moments when all the noise becomes overwhelming – when you feel “constipated with information,” unable to distinguish the real from the fabricated. But then journalism steps in.
It becomes the real person on the phone in a world of automated bots, the reporter on the ground, the human voice cutting through the chaos and reminding us what reality actually is. In a world increasingly shaped by algorithms and artificial avatars, journalism remains the anchor of truth.
And in that room, I was the only CEO and voice from a Ukrainian media organization. I felt the weight of that. But I also felt pride. Pride that Kyiv Post stands shoulder to shoulder with the Western world’s leading democratic news institutions. Pride that our values – truth, transparency, editorial independence – are not just slogans but existential pillars in a time of war.
It was also very satisfying to be told over and over by these leading news institutions that they read and regard Kyiv Post as world-class and trustworthy for many of them when doing their own fact-checking on stories. This made me incredibly proud of our editorial, digital, and social media teams as well as our extraordinarily supportive publisher, Ruslan Kivan, who gives us the tools, freedom, and trust to deliver day-in and day-out international journalism to the world without any interference.
Kyiv Post’s mission has never been clearer
Attending and speaking at the Web Summit reminded me why Kyiv Post matters – not just to Ukraine, but to the democratic world.
We are not an extension of any government. We do not parrot narratives. We do not sugarcoat war or corruption.
And we fight for truth because Ukraine is fighting for the right to exist.
We embrace Western democratic norms because Ukraine’s future depends on them.
And we fight for truth because Ukraine is fighting for the right to exist.
Every article we publish, every fact we verify, every lie we dismantle is part of that fight.
Showing up is a form of resistance
Representing Ukraine and the Kyiv Post on global stages like the Web Summit is not a PR exercise. It is a form of resistance. It is a declaration that while Russia tries to drown the world in lies, we will keep investigating, fact-checking, and delivering the truth.
And as long as we keep showing up – on panels, in newsrooms, in war zones, in innovation summits – we remind the world that Ukraine is not a headline, not a statistic, not yesterday’s story.
Ukraine is a nation still fighting.
And at Kyiv Post, we will continue fighting with our strongest weapon: the truth.
The views expressed in this opinion article are the author’s and not necessarily those of Kyiv Post.