**Russian Media Outlet Apologizes for Using Photos of Ukrainian War Victims**
A Russian media outlet and a German PR agency have apologized for using photos of Ukrainian war victims in a promotional campaign.
The campaign, which was supposed to help the media outlet, Meduza, expand its reach among English-speaking audiences, featured pictures of Yaroslav Bazylevych’s family. His entire family was killed when a Russian missile hit their apartment building in Lviv on September 4.
Bazylevych’s daughter Emilia, his wife Yevhenia, and two daughters Daryna and Yaryna were all killed together with him as they tried to reach a bomb shelter.
Meduza used a photo from Bazylevych’s family funeral without his permission. The PR agency, Lure, also apologized for using the footage in their campaign.
The agencies said they were trying to “stand in solidarity” with Ukraine and support independent journalism that challenges Russian propaganda. But many Ukrainians were outraged by the use of the photos.
“We deeply regret that our approach caused distress,” said Lure on their website. The ad campaign has been removed from their site.
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry called the use of the photos “a complete disgrace” and demanded that all such content be removed from media platforms.
Meduza is an independent Russian news outlet headquartered in Latvia. It was designated a “foreign agent” by Moscow in 2021.
Read More @ kyivindependent.com
