Tochytskyi says he is not satisfied with the telethon's achievements

The Minister of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine, Mykola Tochytskyi, is not quite satisfied with the United News telethon's performance in achieving the goals set out for it, he said in an interview with the project "Karpyak on Suspilne".

"I can't say that I'm satisfied," said Tochytskyi.

According to the Minister, today Ukraine should not just refute the enemy's myths and fight disinformation, but also shape our own communication strategy and create myths of our own.

On September 5, 2024, the Minister of Culture and Strategic Communications, Mykola Tochytskyi, said that United News would continue to exist, but a format that generates public interest must be found.

The official and international opinions on the telethon

On November 16, 2023, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the telethon "United News" is one a key stage in the history of Ukraine's resilience.

In December 2023, the Freedom of Speech Committee chairman Yaroslav Yurchyshyn said that the quality of the telethon should be improved. However, he added that the telethon "resolved the issue of false reporting on the war and the combat." He also believes that the low quality of the "United News" telethon pushes people to look for alternative sources of information, so they often end up on anonymous Telegram channels that easily manipulate data.

In February 2024, the international human rights watchdog "Reporters Without Borders" called on Ukraine's authorities to abandon the national telethon United News and return to competition so as to boost pluralism in the media.

On April 15, 2024, the Prime Minister of Ukraine, Denys Shmyhal, said that in his opinion there is no need to reallocate the funds meant for the United News telethon and the TV channel FreeDom to fund the purchase of unmanned aerial vehicles and pickup trucks for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

In April 2024, the US State Department included the national telethon "United News" in its report on human rights violations in Ukraine in 2023.

It was reported in November 2024 that the State Audit Service assessed the budget program that funds the United News telethon as “nominally efficient” spending.