Over the course of 2026, experts with the Institute of Mass Information provided 60 consultations to Ukrainian news outlets willing to be featured on the Map of Recommended Media. This mentoring support led to at least 14 newsrooms chanding their editorial practices and seven developing or improving their editorial policies: Kremenchutska Hazeta (Poltava oblast), Realna Hazeta (Luhansk oblast), Prestupnosti.NET (Mykolaiv oblast), Holos Krymu (Crimea), Qirim Media (Crimea), Volyn Online (Volyn oblast) and Hromada.Hrup (Kharkiv oblast).
The consultations took place over two periods: 26 news outlets received support in January 2026 and 34 more did in June.
Most requested topics
Most requests concerned developing and structuring an editorial policy — news teams sought help creating a ready-to-use document and standardising it to be posted on their website. Those were followed by labelling advertising and sponsored content in terms of demand: e.g. how to properly label text ads, sponsored content, and political advertising. Newsrooms also frequently raised the issue of transparency, such as fully disclosing their contact information, ownership structure, and staff composition.
A separate set of consultations concerned adherence to professional standards: vetting one’s sources (particularly in army-related reporting), hyperlinking to primary sources, distinguishing facts from opinions, and balancing perspectives. Several newsrooms sought help with ethical coverage of sensitive topics (i.e. the draft, sensitive personal stories) and with developing gender sensitivity and anti-discrimination policies; a few requests concerned AI use regulation as part of editorial policy.
Regions that showed most interest
In total, newsrooms based in 22 oblasts took the consultations, with most being from Kyiv city and oblast (nine consultations), followed by Sumy, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Donetsk oblasts at five each; Dnipropetrovsk and Kherson oblasts at four each; and Luhansk, Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia and Chernivtsi oblasts at three each.
Moreover, seven news outlets improved their journalism standards and took down political advertising and content promoting gambling operations from their websites, which resulted in them being re-included in the Map.
The Institute of Mass Information and Detector Media plan to launch the next screening round for the Map in late August or early September 2026.
As reported earlier, the Map currently features 305 Ukrainian news outlets. The list covers 246 news websites, 8 regional investigative journalism centres, 22 radio stations, and 29 TV channels based throughout Ukraine. That is 52 media outlets more than in 2025.
How to get featured on the Map?
Media outlets are assessed by experts at the Institute of Mass Information (IMI) and Detector Media using a methodology comprised of 14 indicators. The main criteria blocks cover transparency as well as adherence to professional standards and journalism ethics.
The application system allows news outlets to apply for the project themselves, which makes the inclusion process simpler and democratises the selection, opening the door to small and niche outlets. The Map will continue to be updated, with the next monitoring round set to begin in autumn 2026. The call for applications will be posted on IMI’s website and social media.
How does a news outlet develop or improve their editorial policy?
IMI experts offer consultations and assistance in developing editorial policies, as well as anti-discrimination and gender sensitivity policies. Furthermore, experts can advise on adherence to professional and ethical standards.
News outlets can contact the Institute of Mass Information experts at [email protected].
