An independent journalist writing about alleged links between Facebook, a local fact-checking organisation, and far-right groups has been forced to flee Kiev after receiving death threats.
Ekaterina Sergatskova, 32, a Russian-born, Ukrainian nationalised citizen, is editor of the well-regarded Zaborona publication, which focuses on matters often ignored by Ukrainian media, including nationalism and the far right.
On 3 July, Ms Sergatskova co-authored an investigation alleging links between neo-nazi groups and StopFake, a Ukrainian NGO working as a Facebook fact-checking partner.
The report detailed several instances of one of the NGO’s public faces appearing alongside musicians from Holocaust-denying, white power bands. It suggested the alleged links could have served as a reason for Facebook removing an earlier Zaborona article about far-right activist Denis Nikitin.
StopFake responded to the allegations with a statement saying it was never authorised to block materials, and rejected the associations as a pro-Russian conspiracy.
The article also brought an immediate reaction from the hard right – both publicly on social media and privately, in messages sent to the journalist.
On Saturday, Roman Skrypin, a popular, nationalist-leaning journalist, dramatically upped stakes by publishing pictures of Ms Sergatskova and her five-year-old son, together with photographs of what he believed to be her home. He accused the journalist of being an agent of the Kremlin, a description friends of the journalist dismiss as absurd.
In comments responding to Mr Skrypin’s Facebook post, users threatened all kinds of retribution, and published details of her supposed address.
Hellbound and Down 