924 putins

Two Finnish tabloid newspapers, Iltalehti (IL) and Ilta-Sanomat (IS) are visibly sold across the country in stores, kiosks and coffee shops. Our Ukrainian-Finnish volunteer team researched how often and in what way IL and IS covers featured russia’s war between 01.02.2022 – 31.07.2024 (30 months).

White paper (FI) summary

30 months of aggression: Tabloid covers favor putin, acknowledge russia, and avoid Ukraine

We analyzed 1454 IS and IL covers and their mentions of putin, russia, and Ukraine.

The results reveal that putin was featured by name and/or photo 924 times (IS 347, 48%; IL 577, 79%)—significantly more than russia (600 times) and Ukraine (218 times). During the review period, IL completely omitted Ukraine for 5 months, while IS did so for one.

In September 2022 (IL), putin appeared on every cover. The internationally wanted terrorist is portrayed with a polished image, typically in a business suit, in 98.5% of the cover photos (875/888).

Data highlights

See Whitepaper (FI) and data + methods (FI) for details.

  • ⁠putin mentioned 924 times (68% IS, IL)

  • ⁠⁠putin in photos 888 times (IS, IL)

  • ⁠⁠3 photos show putin in bad light (0.34%)

  • ⁠⁠russia mentioned 600 times (41%)

  • Ukraine mentioned 218 times (15%)

  • out of sample of 15 significant war events, IL mentioned 0 events “standalone”; either the event wasn’t mentioned at all, or the cover also featured putin

Overview of text/photo mentions for putin, russia and Ukraine in Ilta-Sanomat (IS) and Iltalehti (IL) covers:

Heatmap of text/photo mentions for putin, russia and Ukraine in Ilta-Sanomat and Iltalehti covers:

Comparison of text/photo mentions for putin, russia and Ukraine in Ilta-Sanomat and Iltalehti covers:

Comparison of photo mentions for putin, russia and Ukraine in Ilta-Sanomat and Iltalehti covers:

Example: all IS (16) and IL (24) cover photos of putin in October 2022, out of 26 total issues.

Example 15 war events featured on IS and IL covers (full data)

Iltalehti covers featured none of the war events on their own. Ilta-Sanomat covers featured roughly 1/3 of the sampled events on their own, without also mentioning putin.

Ok, and?

The results reveal a clear putin-focus. Although the war demands the efforts of millions of russians, the newspapers personify it as “putin’s war.” Ukraine, defense, and heroes rarely appear on the covers.

In the aggressor state and its temporarily occupied areas, the carefully branded “putin cult” serves as a tool of propaganda and garners attention. Meanwhile, reporting on Ukraine is life-threatening.

In Finland, no one is yet forced to give putin any media space. Here, journalists still have the freedom to report on the war openly. Cover headlines and images matter: they shape public perceptions, volunteer motivation, support for Ukraine, and the will to win.

Our research left us wondering:

  1. How will Ilta-Sanomat and Iltalehti choose to use this valuable privilege?

  2. How well is media elsewhere in EU ensuring support to Ukraine and resisting russian influence?

Want to contribute? Explore and download the data, or ping us iltahuti(@)gmail.com.