Osavul is responding to publications circulating in Russian media outlets that accuse the company of cooperating with the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK). We view this campaign as an attempt to pressure the company and its partners through public accusations, political labeling, and manipulative interpretation of facts.
Osavul is not going to change course under pressure. The company works with people and organizations who share our core values: a commitment to peace, freedom, open debate, democratic institutions, and the public's right to receive and analyze information. We consider FBK a partner, and we see no reason to end that cooperation because of an information attack.
FBK and Osavul are partners
Osavul's cooperation with FBK is part of the company's work with civil society and the information environment. It matters to Osavul that information-analysis technology is used to increase transparency in the information space, expose manipulation, and counter information attacks.
We consider attempts to portray this work as unlawful or improper to be part of a campaign to discredit the company and its partners.
We do not consider FBK a terrorist organization. The designations used by Russian state bodies are, in our view, a politically motivated classification that Osavul disagrees with.
For us, cooperating with FBK means cooperating with people engaged in civic and anti-corruption work who stand for freedom, democratic values, and peace.
Osavul knows what information attacks look like
It is telling that the accusations against Osavul are being spread specifically around the company's work analyzing the information environment.
Osavul specializes in detecting disinformation, information manipulation, and coordinated campaigns. The platform tracks how narratives develop, analyzes their sources and spread, and identifies signs of coordinated inauthentic activity.
That is precisely why we understand how campaigns like this one are built: an emotional accusation, the same claims repeated over and over, references to unnamed sources, and an attempt to present cooperation with certain organizations as evidence of wrongdoing.
We are not going to play by those rules.
"When a company works on analyzing information threats, sooner or later it becomes a target of information attacks itself. For us, that's not a reason to change our values or abandon our partners. We will keep working with those who share our views on freedom, peace, and democratic values. Pressure will not make Osavul change course."
— Dmytro Pleshakov, co-founder and CEO of Osavul
Pressure will not change the company's position
Osavul is not going to abandon its cooperation with civil society because of threats of persecution or attempts at intimidation.
The company will continue developing technology that helps expose information manipulation and protect the information space from coordinated attacks. That is consistent with Osavul's core mission and its international work countering FIMI and disinformation.
"We didn't build Osavul to bend to political convenience or drop our principles at the first sign of pressure. We understand the risks, and we're prepared for them. Osavul will keep working with partners who share our values, and we'll keep speaking openly — no matter how aggressive the campaign against us gets."
— Dmytro Bilash, co-founder and Chief Business Development Officer (CBD) of Osavul
The company also encourages journalists and readers to independently verify the sources of information being circulated, and to separate documented facts from claims based on anonymous sources and political judgments.
Osavul is not abandoning its partners. It is not abandoning its values. And it is not going to change course under pressure.