45,600 journalistic investigations and pieces containing elements of the genre have been released in Ukraine over the past 20 years, according to a study by the analytical system YouControl, which analysed the material in its “Reputation in Media” module.

The analysts found that the investigations published over this period featured over 71,000 individuals and 63,400 legal entities. The number of such releases peaked at 8,949 investigations in 2025. The number remains similarly high in 2026: as of mid-September, 8,494 pieces have already been recorded.

The journalists most often focused on political authorities and big businesses. The legal entities who earned most critical mentions between 2014 and 2026 included the Prosecutor General’s Office (97 mentions) and the Party of Regions (76). Overall, 62% of the top 50 legal entities by number of critical mentions belonged to the public sector.

Among individuals, most critical mentions over the past 12 years were of Viktor Yanukovych (364), Petro Poroshenko (135), Ihor Kolomoiskyi (115), Volodymyr Zelensky (108), and Arsen Avakov (87).

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Pavlo Lisnychenko, coordinator of the Institute of Mass Information’s (IMI) nationwide Mediabaza hub network, stressed the importance of systematising media data for reporting:

“The ‘Reputation in Media’ module is very helpful to journalists because it significantly reduces the time they spend collecting and studying the background of the people and companies mentioned in a news piece. Moreover, media professionals can enrich their material by studying their colleagues’ work and adjust them in light of earlier reports,” Pavlo Lisnychenko remarked.

The analysts stressed that the rise in the number of pieces is due not only to an increase in classic investigations but also to the fact that regional media outlets are increasingly joining the genre, actively using investigative elements in their news.

At the same time, YouControl remarked that the number of mentions in investigations reflects the intensity of media attention paid to a person or company, and is not in itself proof of wrongdoing on their part.

As IMI has reported, YouControl has launched a fact-checking and OSINT course for media workers.