Mail2ru.org has announced that 100 million emails from personal email addresses have been sent to the people of Russia by over 500,000 people across the world. Having observed how the Russian government has been disseminating false information to the people of Russia, suppressing the truth about the havoc it placed on Ukraine, a global team of technologists and psychologists combined resources to develop a website to facilitate direct communication with Russians, revealing the truth about the war.
Through the website, “mail2ru.org,” professors, journalists, students, or anyone can volunteer to share accurate, independent news reports on the war through emails. This innovation is aimed at outwitting the propaganda campaign of President Putin about the war in Ukraine. The website allows users to send already-written stories about different channels through which Russians can access independent news. News stories about the current and past status of the war can be sent through the website to 150 Russian email addresses or more with just one click. Additionally, to protect the safety of users, the website protects the identity of people engaging in the discussions.
“We have collected over 100 million email addresses of people in Russia, but nobody can contact that many people on their own,” said mail2ru.org creator, Fabian Falch. “Mass emails often go straight into the spam filter without reaching the recipient. That’s the beauty of this system – when people all over the world send messages from their own personal accounts, the information we send to Russian citizens actually lands in their inboxes and can be read.”
On the website, detailed information on how to download Tor, a browser that prevents surveillance, is provided. Also, links to independent media channels and messages transcribed in English and Russian are provided to facilitate effective communication. While Putin is hiding the actual casualty counts and controlling what Russians know about the deaths and destruction caused by the Russian government upon Ukrainians, Fabian will stop at nothing to ensure that fake news is debunked and the Russian community is well-educated.
To effectively burst Putin’s propaganda bubble and reach as many people as possible in Russia, Mail2RU is collaborating with a lot more professionals across the world. Worthy of mention is the Associate Professor of Public Policy at the Havard Kennedy School, Julia Minson. Julia is of Russian and Ukrainian descent, and she will use her expertise in conflict communication to curate the right mails for the team. The team is still calling on more people willing to volunteer for this cause to send more mails.
“It’s understandable to feel enraged, terrified, or saddened by the events in Ukraine. But, when sending a message, we need to remember that people in Russia don’t have access to all the facts,” said Minson. “That’s why we provide guidelines on mail2ru.org about how to write messages that are clear, nonjudgmental, and encourage dialogue.”
“We have already established dialogue with many Russians who wanted to learn about the truth, but we still need more volunteers to write and send messages. If I could get one person to make up their own mind by reading real news and not just the lies coming from the Kremlin—my mission would be complete.”
For more information, visit mail2ru.org.
Media Contact
Company Name: Mail2ru.org
Contact Person: Julia Minson
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Country: United States
Website: https://mail2ru.org/