Tsikhanouski: YouTube paid me almost $40,000 in advertising revenue, accrued back in 2020

Former political prisoner Siarhei Tsikhanouski reacted to Nasha Niva's publication about his birthday celebration in Los Angeles. He was outraged that the phrase "with a bang" was present in the headline.

According to Tsikhanouski, he personally spent only $130 on that evening – on soda and a few bottles of alcohol. Friends helped him organize the venue and also brought several cakes and apples. The celebration took place on a regular weekday, and about 50 people gathered. Therefore, there was no "bang," he says.

However, this situation became an occasion for Tsikhanouski to reflect on money and funding in general.

"I do not receive grants for my channel and never have. At the same time, the work of some people on my channel was paid for through grant funding, the total amount of which was €10,000 per month, which means €120,000 per year. Today, some of them say that it was exclusively 'earnings,' remaining silent about the source of this funding, while simultaneously telling the audience about what grants I allegedly received," Tsikhanouski writes.

"And since the question has arisen about where I get money to live in the USA and for that incredible '$130 'bang,' I will answer openly.

Recently, YouTube paid me a little less than $40,000 in advertising revenue, accrued back in 2020. In addition, after my release, representatives of the Belarusian diaspora and business — people who appreciate what I have done — helped me. I am sincerely grateful to them for this help," he continues his financial report.

And after that, he sharply criticizes media and bloggers who "receive funding from European and other Western organizations," but, in his opinion, do not care about "maintaining even basic journalistic standards." Therefore, Siarhei Tsikhanouski has conceived the idea of collecting more such facts and sending them to "Western partners" so that they "take into account the quality and responsibility of recipients when making decisions about further funding."

It's difficult to manage such a task alone, so Tsikhanouski asks for public support for his initiative, calling on them to collect and send him "facts, links, and evidence." If enough are collected, then the plan is to "systematize and transfer them to the organizations that make funding decisions," and "if needed, a collective appeal or petition can be discussed."

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