On the Case of Meduza and Lure’s Ad Campaign

In January, Meduza launched a large-scale advertising campaign across European capitals, including Berlin. The campaign featured posters, billboards, and cinema ads using graphic images of russian attacks on Ukraine—scenes of bombings, funerals, and grieving families—juxtaposed with slogans about Meduza being a “trusted” source of information.

One of the most striking and outrageous examples: a widely used image of Yaroslav Bazylevych at the funeral of his wife and three children, who were killed in a russian missile strike on Lviv. Neither he nor his family ever consented to their suffering being used for Meduza’s self-promotion.

After massive backlash from Ukrainians and allies—including many of you—this campaign is now being removed from cinemas and public spaces across Europe.

Huge thanks to everyone who helped expose this case, spoke out, and pressured both Meduza and the German creative agency Lure behind the campaign. Special thanks to our colleague Viktoriya, who initiated this wave of resistance!

But it’s not over.

Instead of taking responsibility, Meduza responded by saying that while they were “sorry” if anyone was offended, they had the legal right to use these materials. This only reinforced what has been clear for a long time: Meduza, like many russian outlets, continues to center itself over Ukraine, instrumentalizing Ukrainian suffering while failing to challenge russian imperialism at its core.

❗️ And this problem goes beyond a single advertising campaign.

Meduza’s use of Ukrainian suffering is just the tip of the iceberg.

Their reporting consistently misrepresents the war, blurring the line between victim and aggressor, giving russian war criminals the same credibility as Ukrainian officials, and echoing Kremlin narratives.

🔎 Key findings from the research “Deconstructors of Truth: How the Russian Opposition Media Covers Russia’s Full-Scale Invasion of Ukraine” by Nataliia Steblyna & Iryna Avramenko:

False Equivalencies, Meduza has published headlines like:

• “Did Russia blow up the Kakhovka Dam? Or Ukraine? Or did it collapse by itself?” – fueling Kremlin narratives that deny Russian responsibility. By presenting Russian lies alongside verified facts, Meduza blurs reality, making both sides seem equally guilty or untrustworthy.
• “Russian troops shelled Lviv, Ukrainian troops shelled Yasynuvata in the DPR” – suggesting equal guilt when, in reality, one side is committing war crimes.
  (Yasynuvata is a city in occupied Donetsk where a russian ammonition depot was hit. The so-called “DPR” is a russian-imposed name for occupied Ukrainian territory in Donetsk region.)

Weak Journalistic Standards:

Meduza gives statements from russian war criminals the same weight as those from Western and Ukrainian officials, without proper contextualization. Instead of exposing the lies of Russian officials, they often treat them as legitimate perspectives—helping them launder their crimes.

Echoing Kremlin Narratives:

• Meduza’s reporting has included claims such as “Ukraine betrayed Donbas” and “Bucha was a provocation.”
• Articles like “From Bandera to ‘Azov’” frame Ukrainian nationalism as a subject of russian propaganda, reinforcing rather than debunking it.

📖 We strongly recommend reading the full report on so-called “independent” russian media and how they continue to align with russian propaganda. Read here.

russian media—no matter how ‘liberal’—cannot be trusted to tell the truth about Ukraine. They are still part of the empire, still centering themselves, and still manipulating narratives to serve their own interests.

If Lure truly wanted to support independent journalism that exposes russian propaganda and stand with Ukraine, why didn’t they amplify Ukrainian independent media instead? Outlets like Kyiv Independent, Svidomi, and Detector Media could have benefited from this platform—so why was Meduza, a russian outlet, given priority?

We hope that in the future, our German partners and colleagues will take a more informed and thoughtful approach. If you ever need context, deeper insight, or reliable sources—we’re here to share our expertise.