Supporting independent journalism in Ukraine

The following was issued as a joint press release on Monday 7th September 2026 from WAN-IFRA, AIRPPU, and OpenAI.

The Newsroom AI Masterclass Series and Newsroom AI Catalyst support Ukraine’s independent news sector with a focus on AI adoption, innovation, and resilience.

OpenAI, WAN-IFRA, and the Association of Independent Regional Press Publishers of Ukraine (AIRPPU) have announced a new initiative to support and strengthen Ukrainian news publishers by building practical artificial intelligence capabilities and accelerating innovation across their organisations. During a time of continued conflict and unrest, the new initiative—developed by AIRPPU in partnership with WAN-IFRA and OpenAI—aims to help news organisations harness the opportunities of artificial intelligence to strengthen the sustainability, efficiency, and resilience of independent journalism.

The programme combines two complementary components:

• Newsroom AI, supporting news organisations selected by AIRPPU in developing and implementing AI-driven newsroom projects, and;

• Business Transformation, supporting AI-driven commercial and operational transformation projects.

The Newsroom AI Masterclass Series will build on prior successful initiatives of WAN-IFRA and OpenAI and bring together international experts and practitioners to share practical knowledge, case studies, and implementation strategies. The topics span a broad range of critical news organisation priorities, including editorial workflows, audience engagement, product development, revenue generation, organisational change, and responsible AI adoption.

Building on this foundation, the Newsroom AI Catalyst will provide deeper, hands-on support to ten participating Ukrainian news organisations as they identify high-impact use cases, develop implementation roadmaps, and pilot AI-enabled solutions tailored to their specific needs.

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