Media experts – Alyona Romanyuk, the author of the “NotaYenota” project, and Serhiy Shturkhetskyi, head of the Independent Media Union of Ukraine, participated in the development of the recommendations. channel 24 shares expert advice on what not to share in high-profile chats.

How to behave in chat rooms?

1. Be considerate of new chat members. Do not, in the slightest doubt, accuse them of collaborating with the enemy.

Often times, new members of the house chat are just new residents. Before you start looking for spies among them, analyze the reasons for your suspicions. Often times such doubts can be triggered by the stress of bad news.

2. Do not share data on military facilities and critical infrastructure.

Sometimes chat rooms with large numbers of participants can be used by the enemy to conduct intelligence and subversive propaganda through individual members of the chat rooms. Fair suspicion arises from chat participants trying to gather information about:

• Warehouses, repair bases and fleets;

• Engineer-equipped positions and personnel residences of the Armed Forces of Ukraine;

• hospitals;

• Important infrastructure facilities – thermal power plants, oil depots, hydraulic structures, etc.;

• Movement paths of our military personnel, weapons and ammunition.

3. Do not share information about the positions of enemy missiles and drones in chats.

Such information can be used by the enemy to adjust the accuracy of attacks and identify gaps in the air defense system. Publication of photographs showing the land and/or real estate under martial law is subject to criminal liability.

Do not share any information about arrivals, shelling and destruction in public chats without appearing in official sources.

But it is also important to know the limits here. Strange or unknown sounds heard by one of the neighbors is a valid topic for discussion. After all, home chats are for solving problems at home, and such questions may be related to domestic emergencies.

4. Ask the chat manager to delete valuable messages for the enemy. Among them are those that may include:

• Geotags and other metadata of submitted files – photo or video;

• Recognizable elements of the area that can be identified on the map – characteristic buildings, landscape, road signs, outdoor advertisements, etc.;

• serial numbers on pieces of enemy ammunition;

• Plates of military equipment, markings on it;

• The real names/surnames of the soldiers, their faces.

5. Do not spread unconfirmed information that settlements have been liberated from occupation.

Evacuation is not a one-time and irreversible action, it is a complex and sometimes long process and its end can only be determined by the command of the Armed Forces.

The premature distribution of eviction notices can create false expectations and put residents at risk. For example, if they try to return to their apartment because of unverified data. Therefore, distribute information about the recovery of territories or a counterattack only after its official approval.

Additionally, drawing media attention to a newly liberated settlement may encourage the enemy to make efforts to retake their positions. And the lives of our soldiers are more important than insults and posts.

6. Do not allow feelings, hostility and “betrayal” to be provoked.

Disagreements in group chats contribute to fueling hostility among Ukrainians. There are documented cases of emotionally charged calls for wrongdoing circulating among communities. For example, provided that the lights are turned on before cars and trams close. Such propaganda can weaken its defensive capabilities, so do not support its spread.

Manipulators play with extreme emotions and a sense of injustice. “There is no light in our house, there is another house” or “There is no electricity in our region because it is sent to another region/sold abroad” are vivid examples of such provocations.

To avoid emotional impact, always verify information with the help of independent sources – official channels of government agencies, local authorities and official media. Also, take care to create and follow chat rules: define moderators, unacceptable topics and words when communicating. Following these rules allows you to safely and freely share ideas, thoughts and information in your group chat.

Tips on communication hygiene in group chats

Specialists of the popular Viber messenger have prepared relevant tips:

1. Assign group chat moderators and agree on protocols.
   Record what topics are discussed in the group, say spam is not allowed. It is convenient to add these rules at the top of the chat so that everyone can see and remember.

2. Personalization.
   During correspondence, we do not fully read the feelings of the interlocutor, so it is much easier to offend a person and spoil the relationship.

3. Do not forward news and messages containing offensive information in official channels or media without verification.
   This is a basic rule of information hygiene and will save you and all chat participants from unnecessary tension.

4. Homegroup chats are not the best place for emotional discussion of life issues.
   Try to focus on the main topic, discuss questions on the topic of conversation in a constructive way. Otherwise, participants will perceive the chat as a place of negativity and turn off notifications and therefore miss out on important things.

5. Look for information in chats before asking others.
   For example, participants can previously discuss information about Internet providers working during power outages, so before asking again in chat, it is worth looking in the messenger.

6. Pin important messages to the top of the chat:
   for example, power outage schedules, communication rules, important telephone numbers of emergency services – so it will be convenient to find it.