The Role of Memes in War: Kyiv Independent Conversation with Saint Javelin Founder Christian Borys - Unite With Ukraine

The Kyiv Independent have announced their next community event will be with Christian Borys, founder of Saint Javelin.

Saint Javelin began in Feb. 2020 as an effort to raise $500 to support Ukrainians – and it then went viral. Since then, Saint Javelin has contributed over $1 million to pro-Ukrainian causes.

The event is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 22, at 8 p.m. Kyiv time (1 p.m. EDT) and is exclusive to Patreon community members.

Sign up here.

The Kyiv Independent is Ukraine’s English-language media outlet, created by journalists who were fired from the Kyiv Post for defending editorial independence.

The Kyiv Post, Ukraine’s global voice, went silent on Nov. 8, 2021, days after celebrating the 26th year of its uninterrupted run.

The publication was shut down by the owner in his attempt to take full control of the newsroom that has always followed the principle of editorial independence.

Yet, the editorial team of the independent Kyiv Post refused to be silenced believing if they couldn’t save the Kyiv Post brand, they could save its values.

On Nov. 11, 2021, over 30 ex-Kyiv Post employees decided to continue the Kyiv Post’s legacy by launching a new publication – the Kyiv Independent.

The following values serve as the backbone of the Kyiv Independent:

• The new publication will serve its readers and community, and nobody else.
• The Kyiv Independent won’t be dependent on a rich owner or an oligarch. The publication will depend on fundraising from readers and donors and later on, commercial activities.
• The newsroom will decide and execute the publication’s editorial policy in the community’s best interests. Attempts to influence it from outside will not be tolerated.
• The Kyiv Independent will always be at least partly owned by its journalists.
• The Kyiv Independent will strive to reach financial sustainability to preserve its independence in the future.

The team unanimously chose Olga Rudenko, former deputy chief editor at the Kyiv Post, who dedicated 10 years to the brand, to lead the new publication as editor-in-chief.

The Kyiv Independent provides fair and reliable news on a variety of topics. From Russia’s war against Ukraine and disinformation campaigns to the ongoing pandemic and medical procurement, from human rights in occupied Donbas and Crimea to reforms in Kyiv, nothing will escape the view of the Kyiv Independent.