Suddenly things had to be done quickly. When the Russian government continued to crack down on media freedom in early Marchshe also blocked the page from Meduza in Russia. The medium is considered one of the last independent voices in the country and, despite being blocked, is still read by millions of Russians using a special app and the Thor browser. However, renewed repression is now jeopardizing the medium’s funding. While the last journalists had to leave Russia in the course of the Ukraine war, lost Meduza including access to the contributions of its 30,000 members. Nevertheless, the editorial team continues to report on the war from Riga in Latvia. However, the medium soon runs out of money.
To keep its independent reporting alive, is Meduza approached the editors of the German online magazine Krautreporter. In a “Hau-Juck action”, as Krautreporter editor Sebastian Esser explained to the SZ on Friday crowdfunding has been set up, which started last Mondayt. “You can continue with 10,000 supporters,” Esser told the SZ. However, the goal is 30,000 supporters. Krautreporter has experience with online appeals for donations. The medium itself was launched in 2012 with a crowdfunding campaign. With the support from abroad, the editors of Meduza now looking forward to continuing to report independently and critically about the Russian government and the war of aggression in Ukraine. Despite the increasing repression in Russia itself.