MOSCOW, APRIL 24, 2020 – RT was named the winner in 8 categories by the jury of the Shorty Awards – a prestigious competition honoring achievements in social media. RT’s project dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, an augmented reality (AR) book created by RT’s #Romanovs100 multimedia project, and global multimedia news agency Ruptly received the highest honors. In 8 more categories RT received the Shorty Audience Honor.
The jury named RT’s VR film, The Lessons of Auschwitz, which pays tribute to the 75th anniversary of liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp by the Red Army, the best project in three categories: Best Use of Facebook Video, Best Use of Virtual Reality, Best Use of Branded Content. Internet users favored RT’s VR film over others in four categories. The film features elements of virtual reality and volumetric video technologies. It has been produced as part of RT’s large-scale social media project #VictoryPages.
#Romanovs100 AR Family Photo Album, an augmented reality book created as part of RT’s #Romanovs100 multimedia project that was launched to mark the centenary of the execution of the last Russian royal family, has won the Shorty Awards in Best in Education, Most Creative Use of Technology, and Best in Books and News categories. The jury also gave RT gold and silver in another two categories: Best UX/UI and Best Use of Branded Content correspondingly. The AR album was named the winner by Internet users in three categories. #Romanovs100, produced in collaboration with the State Archive of Russia, was offered across four platforms — YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Dyatlov Group’s Journal, Last Page, an interactive project launched by RT's RUPTLY multimedia news agency, became the winner in Best Multi-Platform Campaign and Best Use of Storytelling categories. RUPTLY's project bested, among others, entries by Sony Pictures Television, Nickelodeon, Universal Pictures and Vice Media. The agency's immersive project is based on the personal diaries and photos of the group of Russian hikers who perished in the Ural Mountains in 1959.
Redfish, a media platform that is part of RUPTLY, took home gold in the category Best in Social Activism. The Redfish team reported on protest movements in France, Ecuador, Chile, Bolivia, and elsewhere on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Ruptly’s social media project called Soapbox (Maffick) received the Shorty Audience Honor in Best in News & Media category.
In 2019, the #Romanovs100 project and the RT360 app for immersive panoramic content won the top prizes at the Shorty Awards. Ruptly broadcasts from the 'yellow vest' protests in France won gold for Best Live News Coverage, beating Bloomberg Media.