Could tell from the headline that this was about Mstyslav Chernov and Evgeniy Maloletka.
> We were the only international journalists left
I find this highly dubious.
Almost everything coming from AP is coming from one or both of these guys and it seems like AP (or AP syndicated) stories get hugely boosted. I have no idea how legitimate they are, but it bothers me that it always seems to be these two guys.
I think it is fair to be skeptical, since there is obviously so much misinformation, but how many international journalists can we expect in a city that is under Russian siege and in the process of being pulverized?
Also, how many experienced international war reporters happen to be Ukrainian and also "instinctively" decide to cover the war from Mariupol a day before it even starts?
> I have since covered wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh, trying to show the world the devastation first-hand. But when the Americans and then the Europeans evacuated their embassy staffs from the city of Kyiv this winter, and when I pored over maps of the Russian troop build-up just across from my hometown, my only thought was, “My poor country.”
> In the first few days of the war, the Russians bombed the enormous Freedom Square in Kharkiv, where I had hung out until my 20s.
> I knew Russian forces would see the eastern port city of Mariupol as a strategic prize because of its location on the Sea of Azov. So on the evening of Feb. 23, I headed there with my long-time colleague Evgeniy Maloletka, a Ukrainian photographer for The Associated Press, in his white Volkswagen van.
I wouldn't be surprised if they do get a prize, but I can't help but wonder how much editorial oversight is had here.
Are AP editors just lapping up whatever these guys pump out or are they using discernment?
Often times the only evidence we have of things happening are from these guys, their photos are high quality but I would appreciate seeing some other sources even if they were of lower quality.
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[ 2.6 ms ] story [ 21.5 ms ] thread> We were the only international journalists left
I find this highly dubious.
Almost everything coming from AP is coming from one or both of these guys and it seems like AP (or AP syndicated) stories get hugely boosted. I have no idea how legitimate they are, but it bothers me that it always seems to be these two guys.
Also, how many experienced international war reporters happen to be Ukrainian and also "instinctively" decide to cover the war from Mariupol a day before it even starts?
> I have since covered wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh, trying to show the world the devastation first-hand. But when the Americans and then the Europeans evacuated their embassy staffs from the city of Kyiv this winter, and when I pored over maps of the Russian troop build-up just across from my hometown, my only thought was, “My poor country.”
> In the first few days of the war, the Russians bombed the enormous Freedom Square in Kharkiv, where I had hung out until my 20s.
> I knew Russian forces would see the eastern port city of Mariupol as a strategic prize because of its location on the Sea of Azov. So on the evening of Feb. 23, I headed there with my long-time colleague Evgeniy Maloletka, a Ukrainian photographer for The Associated Press, in his white Volkswagen van.
Maybe these guys deserve a prize.
Are AP editors just lapping up whatever these guys pump out or are they using discernment?
Often times the only evidence we have of things happening are from these guys, their photos are high quality but I would appreciate seeing some other sources even if they were of lower quality.
What specific information are you skeptical of?
You can start with the telegram channel @mariupolnow
I'm not skeptical per se, but I'm leery that they may be trying to "dramatize" certain images (for lack of a better word).
Given how directly affected they are by the war, I imagine it would be very hard for them to portray the events from a point of neutrality (eg. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Neutral_point_of_vie...).