The operations in the information field of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (in unity with the Moscow Patriarchate) was nullified by raids in its churches and monasteries, criminal charges pressed against its priests and, ultimately, the Christmas service held by the Primate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.
This is stated on the website of the Institute of Mass Information.
As noted by IMI, the information strategy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (MP) is implemented primarily through the distribution of relevant content through the network of its own resources. They include:
websites “Ukrainian Orthodox Church”, “Ukraine Orthodox”, “Holy Dormition Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra”;
the “Union of Orthodox Journalists” website, which does not have original data, but is extremely active in promoting the UOC (MP). At the same time, this site takes news from Russian sources such as RIA Novosti or the pro-Russian publication Strana;
YouTube channels “Ukrainian Orthodox Church”, “Lavra. The way of Salvation”;
Telegram channels “First Cossack”, “Lay Defenders of Ukraine” and “Ukrainian Orthodox Church”;
the “Ukrainian Orthodox Church” Facebook page, as well as diocese accounts, several Facebook groups.
When viewing online sites related to the UOC (MP), one can notice that Facebook occupies a prominent spot in the implementation of the organization’s information strategy. The main page of the Church in this social network is currently monitored by about 173,000 users, which is not enough for the Ukrainian segment. In addition, up to 90,000 followers are added to this page of individual dioceses of the UOC (MP). In addition, there are no less than 10 (however, this is not the final number) related platforms, where quotes and photos of Metropolitan Onufriy are distributed, among countless pictures on religious themes and quotes from the Bible. Such groups cover 40,000-60,000 thousand users.
Exactly how much money is spent on promotion and administration of these pages remains a secret not revealed by the UOC (MP).
Even the main website of the Church begins to appear secondary to these platforms. While it has seen a 41% increase in views during its last run, its number of visits remains below 300,000.
The UOC (MP) YouTube channel is updated with new professionally-made videos almost every day. It has 114,000 subscribers. Some videos have even more views.
Telegram channels, judging by the dates of registration and number of subscribers (from below 1,500 to 16,000), are still a new line of activity for church media staff, which, it seems, are not as well funded as personnel working with Facebook. At the same time, certain representatives of the UOC (MP) systematically administer their personal Telegram channels with several thousand followers.
If possible, popular mass media are also used. However, the UOC (MP) information resources in Ukraine were mentioned with a negative connotation during 2022 in the absolute majority of cases. Ukrainian online publications mostly avoid quoting this Church figures and resort to this only in individual cases of particularly resonating information cases.
More often, the comments of UOC (MP) clerics can be seen in the opeds of international mass media with Ukrainian editorial offices. This is not about the attraction of such media to the church organization. These publications traditionally pay more attention to balance and maintaining a neutral tonality, so they quote figures of the UOC (MP) in parallel lines with the statements of representatives of other religious organizations.
In general, this year the information strategy of the UOC (MP) is reduced to attempts to convince the public that the UOC (MP) is not part of the Russian Orthodox Church, but instead is a part of Ukrainian society.
