Belarusian YouTube show appeals for donations amid funding uncertainty

January 29, Pozirk. Obychnoe Utro, a Russian-language Belarusian show focusing on politics, has launched a €25,000 fundraiser to bridge the gap in funding for the following two months, the team announced on YouTube.

The hosts, prominent Belarusian journalists Kanstancin Kavieryn and Maryna Mentusova, appealed for donations to finance expenses for the next two months, including salaries and studio rent as the show looks for new donors.

The announcement comes about a week after US President Donald Trump suspended all foreign aid from Washington for 90 days.

“We are also doing our best to find new sources of funding,” the journalists said. “We are convinced that the project has benefited the Belarusian society and will continue to do so.”

Launched in September 2022, Obychnoe Utro has 42,200 followers on YouTube.

Last year, the Belarusian Committee for State Security (KGB) branded it an extremist group following an earlier extremist content designation, as authorities in Belarus kept equating criticism, advocacy, free media and free expression to extremism and terrorism. 

Many Belarusian independent media outlets faced financial problems last year, including KYKY, Reform, Belsat, Plan B and ex-press.live. The Belarus Service of the Poland-based radiounet.fm stopped broadcasting over a lack of funding.

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