Currently, more than 8 million Ukrainians live abroad, which is about 20% of the Ukrainian population. Find out how and where Ukrainians abroad learn about current events in their homeland and whether they follow the situation in Ukraine

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The need for refugees to return home is currently an acute issue in the country. However, the decisive factor in this matter is not only the actual desire of refugees to return, but also how Ukraine communicates with those who were forced to leave. Therefore, it is extremely important for the state to understand how and from where Ukrainians abroad consume news, as this allows it to maintain a stable connection with refugees.

As part of a large-scale sociological study of public and political activity and media consumption of Ukrainians abroad, the Civil Network OPORA, with the participation of the Sociological Group "Rating", conducted a survey among Ukrainians who were forced to take temporary protection outside Ukraine. In particular, Ukrainian citizens living in the UK, Israel, Spain, Germany, the Czech Republic, the USA, Hungary and the UK took part in the survey.

Thus, the experts of the Civil Network OPORA asked Ukrainians abroad whether they are interested in events in their homeland, where they get the latest news and which sources they trust the most.

Where do Ukrainians abroad read the news and what exactly are they interested in?

According to the survey, 84% of Ukrainians abroad regularly follow political events in Ukraine, including the situation at the frontline, shelling, and economic developments in the country. At the same time, 74% of respondents are constantly interested in the life of their city or village from which they were forced to leave. Also, Ukrainians abroad are concerned about the latest news from the lives of their friends and relatives who stayed in Ukraine - 79% of respondents said they are in constant contact with their relatives in Ukraine. At the same time, only 24% of respondents follow political events in their country of residence on a regular basis.

Main sources of news for Ukrainians abroad:

- messengers - 50%;

- social networks - 47%;

- news websites - 23%;

- friends, acquaintances or relatives - 22%;

The researchers note that Ukrainians abroad use different platforms to consume different content. In particular, 60% of respondents use television, messengers, and news sites exclusively to follow the news, only occasionally watching interviews or reading analytical articles. Instead, news and author channels are almost equally important on social media (approximately 33%). This means that Ukrainians are interested not only in information as such, but also in its analysis and interpretation by opinion leaders.

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The most popular messengers among Ukrainians abroad:

Telegram is the leader among the messengers used by Ukrainians abroad to receive up-to-date information about events in Ukraine. This messenger holds the top spot in all 7 countries where the survey was conducted: the highest rate of use is in Spain (92%), the lowest - in the Czech Republic (85%).

The most popular channels on Telegram are the so-called news aggregators, while only 25% of respondents use news channels of specific media outlets.

The second most popular messenger is Viber, but only 6% of respondents use it. The highest number is in the United States (13%), the lowest - in Spain and the United Kingdom (4% each).

Other messengers are hardly used by respondents.

What social networks do Ukrainians abroad use?

Facebook turned out to be the most popular among Ukrainians abroad, with 44% of respondents using it. Instagram is in second place, chosen by 22% of respondents. Tiktok is used by 7% of Ukrainians to follow current events, while Twitter is used by only 3%.

Who do Ukrainians trust abroad?

Social media have the highest level of trust among information sources - 85% of respondents trust them "completely" or "mostly". News sites are second in the trust rating, with 77% of respondents trusting them. Information on radio is trusted by 46%, television - 43%, and print media - 40%.

Sociologists note that the highest level of distrust was given to news on television and in the print media - 36% and 22% respectively.

At the same time, 23% of respondents noted that they had seen false information about Ukraine before the survey. The lowest number of such cases was recorded in the United States and the United Kingdom, and the highest - in Israel. According to the respondents, the largest number of fakes is spread by russian sources or on the resources of the so-called L/DPR. However, the respondents said that local state information sources in Hungary and Israel also publish fake news.

Most fakes, according to Ukrainians abroad, concern the Ukrainian army (53%) and the government (38%), while there is less false information about Ukrainian refugees and it is mostly aimed at foreign users.

We remind you! During the summer of 2023, the dynamics of entry into Ukraine increased significantly. Some citizens have returned home for a while, while others want to stay. Read how Ukrainians justify their return from abroad and what changes they have noticed at home in our previous article.

Photo: EPA/UPG

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