PRESS PLAY

Finnish Newspaper Dodges Russian Press Restrictions With Ingenious Video Game Ploy

Articles about the war in Ukraine were snuck into a game beloved by young Russians.

A newspaper in Finland decided to circumvent Russia’s restrictions on foreign media by inserting articles about the Kremlin’s war on Ukraine into a video game. Ever since the invasion began, Moscow has cracked down on press freedom in its country—including by limiting Russians’ access to journalism from overseas. Frustrated with the ban, Finland’s Helsingin Sanomat decided to publish some of its articles about Ukraine in the online shooter game Counter-Strike, which is popular with young Russian men. The outlet built a map in the game called “de_voyna” using the Russian word for war, which includes a hidden room containing images and texts from the paper’s journalists of Russian cruelties witnessed in Ukraine. “If some young men in Russia, just because of this game, happen to think for a couple of seconds what is going on in Ukraine then it’s worth it,” editor-in-chief Antero Mukka said.