Nexta

Nexta (pronounced niekh-ta, Belarusian pronunciation: [nʲexta]) is a Belarusian media outlet that is primarily distributed through Telegram and YouTube channels. The YouTube channel was founded by then 17-year-old student Stsiapan Putsila. The channel's headquarters are located in Warsaw, Poland, after its founder went into exile.

It became the biggest Telegram channel in Belarus as the primary source of news covering events that followed the 2020–2021 Belarusian protests. The Telegram channel mostly featured short videos and images submitted by users taken during the rallies, while longer original videos are shared on YouTube. During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Nexta became an operational resource reporting on the events of the war. Nexta operates one of the largest Twitter accounts in the Russian-speaking world, with more than one million followers. In May 2022, NEXTA Live became the largest Belarusian YouTube channel by number of views.

Nexta faces pressure from Belarusian authorities. Since October 2020, Nexta and its logo are considered extremist content in Belarus. Its founder Stsiapan Putsila and the former editor-in-chief Roman Protasevich were put by Belarusian authorities on a list of "individuals involved in terrorist activity" in November 2020. Amnesty International stated that the classification of the bloggers as terrorists was "arbitrary" and that the Belarusian authorities' decision was based solely on Putsila's and Protasevich's journalism. Since October 2021, NEXTA, NEXTA Live and Luxta are also classified as extremist groups. In April 2022, they were recognized as a terrorist organization in Belarus.