The Servant Influencer: Harness the Power of Social Media for Positive Impact

by Mikko Alasaarela

In November 2021, Illia Ponomarenko, a Ukrainian journalist, found himself unemployed. He was fired, together with his colleagues, from his job at the Kyiv Post, the largest English-language newspaper in Ukraine. That was the start of the Kyiv Independent[22]. The reporters had no funding or resources, but people loved them so much that they got their first office space, legal services, and hosting for free. A couple of months later, Russia invaded Ukraine. Illia, who calls himself “a village guy from Donbas”, started sharing relatable and often emotional stories of the war on Twitter. He quickly became the person to follow for English-language commentary on the war in Ukraine. He went from ten thousand followers to a million followers rapidly. As a defense reporter, he became bigger than most newspapers. Illia hasn’t wasted his newfound popularity. He has tirelessly promoted charities and organized fundraisers for various humanitarian causes.