Beyond the headlines
A few minutes on social media, a quick look into the media outlet of your choice and you are already confronted with war and crisis. Pictures and videos of devastation from all the different corners of the planet. No matter how far you scroll you can’t escape bad news.
Every day we see footage from various front lines. Never before have wars been documented in such detail and archived for future generations. But how does this affect us? What ethical dilemmas do the reporters face when reporting on war? And is there such a thing as ethical war reporting? As part of our project, we set out to find answers to these and many other questions.
People behind the stories
Ever since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, 2022, millions of people have been forced to leave their homes and flee the country, creating Europe's largest refugee crisis since the Second World War.
At the same time, according to the UNHCR more than 10 million people who remain in Ukraine still need humanitarian assistance to meet their most basic needs. Since Ukraine has imposed martial law prohibiting men of military age from leaving the country around three-quarters of the refugees are women and children.
Millions of civilians in Ukraine are currently trapped in a cycle of displacement, loss and uncertainty
Source: UN
people have been displaced inside Ukraine due to the war going on in the country
Even more Ukrainians are scattered across Europe - many of them living as refugees abroad, especially in Central and Eastern Europe.
Poland has welcomed the greatest number of Ukrainian refugees
are currently staying in Poland
The Ukrainian government hopes that most of these people will return once the war ends. However, surveys show that the longer the war continues, the fewer Ukrainians living abroad believe they will return home.
Behind these numbers are people whose lives have been permanently changed by the war and whose stories have been shown on the media for over four years now.
An ukrainian point of view
The UA HUB is a social club for the Ukrainian community in Poland. They provide support for small Ukrainian businesses by offering spaces and networking opportunities. The HUB also supports families by providing legal advice, psychological support and workshops for every generation. There are connections throughout Poland and their goals are development, integration and growth. Another of their concerns is providing support to Ukrainians living abroad and those fighting in their own country.
Olga Kasian, Head of UA HUB Warsaw, fled to Warsaw with her daughter four years ago. She started the UA HUB as a connection point for Ukrainians and is currently also working on expanding throughout Poland.
In the interview, she reflects on how she perceives media coverage of the war in Ukraine as someone personally affected by the conflict, the role of social media, and what she believes should change in reporting on Ukraine.
The topic appears in the media on an ad hoc basis, usually during military events, explosions, or on commemorative dates. What is lacking is precisely a systematic, in-depth cultural context. The media often view Crimea solely as an occupied territory or a geopolitical problem, but say little about the people: contemporary art, the development of the language, and the daily lives of the Crimean Tatars outside the context of war.
- Amet Bekir, Crimean Tartar on war coverage
Amet Bekir is a Crimean Tatar, who was born in Kazakhstan and later lived in Crimea. In September 2014 he moved to Lviv following Russia’s annexation of the peninsula. He is the founder of the organisation “Areket”, that supports emigrants and raises awareness of the crimean tatar culture.
A polish point of view
Karolina Sulej, polish journalist, activist and author talks about the importance of war coverage, the overwhelming amount of news and wishes for the future of war reporting.
It's not an adventure. You need to be informed and know what you are doing.
A soldiers point of view
On one hand, I’m grateful that the war is still being covered internationally because media attention helps keep public awareness and support for Ukraine alive. Without that attention, it’s much easier for the world to move on.
On the other hand, I think a lot of reporting only shows a small part of the reality. The frontline is much more complex than what usually appears in the news. Sometimes the coverage focuses on dramatic events or statistics, but it doesn’t always capture what daily life is like for soldiers, the psychological impact, or how much local communities contribute to supporting the military.
- Maksym Kovtun, a 28 year old ukrainian soldier who served on the frontline for 3.5 years and now talks about his perspective on the current war coverage.
An outside point of view
Simon Plank, an austrian crisis reporter is talking about the importance of social media in crisis reporting and how it has become an integral part of the media landscape. Nevertheless, he emphasizes the challenges associated with social media and warns about their danger.
He also mentions the common phenomenon of news fatigue. In which the sheer volume of information can have a particularly discouraging effect on people, leading them to be reluctant to seek out a lot of information
A professionals point of view
The Press Club Polska is located in Warsaw. The organisation is for and in cooperation with journalists and media professionals in Poland. It is a private and non-profit club with the purpose to improve the profession as well as defend and extend essential media rights like freedom of speech and information. It also supports media professionals by providing workshops and classes for further development. The Press club is also part of the International Association of Press Clubs and the European Federation of Press Clubs.
Jaroslaw Wlodarczyk
Board Member Press Club Polska, Secretary-General at International Association of Press Clubs, journalist, professor.
We asked Jarosław about the ethical challenges of reporting on war, the growing phenomenon of news fatigue, the role of social media, and whether journalism should offer audiences not only facts, but also hope.
More and more people say they are tired of the news. But what happens when people begin avoiding the news altogether? News fatigue is becoming one of the biggest challenges in keeping important stories visible.
As social media becomes the primary source of news for millions, journalism faces a crucial choice: follow the logic of algorithms that reward speed and emotion, or stand apart by prioritizing verification, context and quality reporting.
Should journalism give people hope? Its role is not to comfort audiences or shape their emotions – it is to provide accurate, verified facts.
An alternative point of view
Handy Journalism
Rubryka is a Ukrainian solutions media outlet that focuses on solutions and constructive journalism, aiming to highlight not just problems but also how people respond to them. In its “In Handy” section, this approach is especially clear. The articles break down real-life solutions and explain how they can be applied in practice, making the content feel useful and actionable. By focusing on progress and possibilities instead of only negative news, Rubryka keeps readers engaged and helps reduce news fatigue, giving audiences a sense that change is possible.
A similar approach can be seen in the Polish media outlet Outriders, based in Warsaw. Founded in 2017, https://www.journalismfund.eu/media/outridersOutriders focuses on global stories with local relevance and uses multimedia formats like data visualisation, mobile journalism, and interactive storytelling to engage audiences . Their reporting often combines in-depth coverage of crises, such as war or climate issues with context, perspectives, and potential responses, aiming to “inform, stimulate reflection, and inspire change” . Projects like their multimedia investigations and social campaigns show how they try to move beyond traditional negative news cycles and create more meaningful audience engagement.
Overall, both Rubryka and Outriders use constructive journalism to fight news fatigue, but they do it slightly differently. Rubryka is more directly solution-oriented and practical, often giving readers clear “how-to” guidance. Outriders, on the other hand, leans more on immersive storytelling and global reporting that encourages reflection and understanding. Together, they show how constructive journalism tends to mix innovation and engagement, while still aiming for the same goal: making news feel relevant, balanced, and less overwhelming.
A look ahead
There are many various views from different perspectives on ethics in journalism. And war reporting in the age of social media remains a controversial topic. Social media has brought an incredible pace to the media landscape. Which leads to a constant stream of information that can be overwhelming at times and makes it hard to distinguish between facts and fakes.
That is why it is especially important to avoid sensationalism when reporting on conflicts and suffering. Journalists should always remain educated and provide if possible a platform for true personal stories. To get as close as possible to an ethical way of war coverage it is important to keep journalistic standards and to provide an insightful and truthful view into different realities on one planet.
Our team
left to right Marcus Refsgaard, Aviana Horvath, Elsa Mayringer, Solomiia Bodnarchuk, Sofiia Dubik and mentor Katarina Gladka
Sources
UNHCR: https://www.unhcr.org/where-we-work/regions/europe?dataset=POP&yearsMode=range&selectedYears=%5B2012%2C2026%5D&level=REG&category=PTY&fundingSource=ALS&compareBy=%5B%22category%22%5D&levelCompare=%5B%5B%22REUR%22%5D%5D&viewType=chart&chartType=bar&contextualDataset=BUD&tableDataView=absolute
https://www.unhcr.org/media/global-appeal-2025-regional-overviews
https://www.unrefugees.org/emergencies/ukraine/
Reuters:https://www.reuters.com/world/ukrainians-scattered-across-europe-trapped-limbo-by-war-2026-02-21
https://uahub.eu/en/
https://pressclub.pl/english/
https://ijnet.org/en/story/polish-outlet-outriders-using-mobile-journalism-and-immersive-video-attract-audiences
https://www.journalismfund.eu/media/outriders?utm_source.com