Journalists and psychologists advise reading the news twice a day and trusting only dry facts

In the daily flow of information, we don’t just learn news, we live in it. During the full-scale war, reading the tape became a part of reality for millions of Ukrainians. News has become not an external tool, but something deeply embedded in the internal rhythm of the day. Their flow, which falls on the reader every day, creates a sense of presence in reality, but at the same time creates chaos and fatigue. A person ceases to understand what is true and what is exaggerated. She absorbs the news without having time to digest the previous ones. When every update is alarming, when waking up starts not with coffee, but with checking new messages about the front or international events, you should ask yourself: are we still in control of information or is it already controlling us? Therefore, at a time when information has become ubiquitous, it is important to distinguish what is needed from empty noise. That is why media experts advise: read the news twice a day and trust only dry facts.

The events taking place in Ukraine and the world are described literally everywhere — on dozens of Telegram channels, news sites, and social media pages. Information is often duplicated, sometimes changed, new details are added, or fakes appear. In such an environment, the news consumer is easily confused, may panic, but is not ready to give up the habit of “keeping your finger on the pulse”. Psychologist and psychotherapist Olena Shershnyova believes, that reading the news has become an addiction that “really drains energy, and in return gives nothing but a feeling of anxiety.”

Victoria Piven, head of the editorial office of the online good news media “ShoTam”, emphasizes that the number of news channels must be reduced first of all. At the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Ukrainians subscribed to dozens of Telegram channels: anonymous, author’s, news – to understand what was happening. Over time, some unsubscribed, others remained.

“The first thing I would advise is to unsubscribe from all news channels that are not official media. That is, if they are anonymous (resources. — Ed.) or it is not clear who runs this channel. Maybe there is even some adequate information there, but you do not understand who it is, you do not understand if there is any editorial, that is why it is better to unsubscribe.”, — explains Victoria.

Why is it so important to get news from the official media? Because it is responsible for the truthfulness of the publications. The editors understand that publishing untruths can lead not only to loss of trust, but also to lawsuits.

The chief editor of “Gvara Media” Serhii Prokopenko recommends focusing not on the quantity of news, but on its quality. He believes that it is not necessary to monitor the tape constantly – it is enough to do it two or three times a day. Such a habit, Prokopenko is convinced, can be easily developed – the main thing is to have the desire.

He also advises choosing a few primary sources — transparent national media, 2-3 regional resources, a few activists or artists you respect. They can be followed to understand both events and aesthetic or civic contexts.

Political scientist and journalist Yurii Chevordov recommends analyzing your own feed of Telegram channels: if a channel has more than 20 unread messages, you can safely delete it. From his experience, he advises choosing media that create convenient selections of the main news – one message per day can be more effective than a stream of 50 posts.

Yurii Chevordov cites the example of the meeting between Zelenskyi and Trump, which was broadcast live, but was immediately overgrown with dozens of versions. The reason is translation. Therefore, he recommends listening to the original – in English, without intermediaries.

He also believes that information oversaturation will remain at least until the end of 2025. Because Trump in himself is an information explosive.

“Trump in himself is an information bomb. That is, he woke up – and the whole world began to follow it. For us (for Ukraine. – ed.), I think that the intensity will be as long as some peace agreements continue. Even if a ceasefire regime is adopted now. These are not peace negotiations, this is only a ceasefire, and then there will be peace negotiations.” Chevordov emphasizes.

After the signing of the peace treaty, Ukraine, in his opinion, will move to the next informational stage – elections. So new waves of disinformation are guaranteed, and you have to be prepared for them.

Content from experts, according to media expert Victoria Piven, should also be consumed with caution. Even the most balanced and intelligent analyst can cause stress in his words. If something scared or upset you, try to find an alternative opinion and only then form your own idea of ​​the event.

She also recommends sometimes reading official sources — the Center for Strategic Communications, the Center for Combating Disinformation, and the Ministry of Defense’s Directorate General of Internal Affairs and Communications. This will allow better filtering of information.

Another important point is headlines that appeal to emotions.

“By the way, what I advise all my friends and relatives. Do not react to overly emotional headlines. They are too powerful, such as: “Shock!”, “Sensation!”, “They said this!”. Or my favorite headlines: “That’s it, this is the end”. (…) In a word, where there is not even just an emotional, but some hysterical note, you should never react to them. And, most likely, it is either really some kind of manipulation, or there is nothing there no. You’ll just waste your time, they won’t tell you anything.” – shares the Rooster.

According to journalists, it is important to choose dry information — statements from the White House or the President’s Office have a better effect on the emotional state than “sources” that convey behind-the-scenes details. Even the most authoritative newsrooms can become the object of manipulation. They deliberately “spill” messages that someone needs.

The Center for Combating Disinformation notes that disinformation from the Russian Federation is increasing. The Russians spread fakes about the Armed Forces of Ukraine: Ukrainian soldiers allegedly kill civilians, use drugs, mobilize HIV-positive people — and all this is allegedly confirmed by the “confessions” of prisoners of war recorded under duress. No real evidence is provided.

Moreover, Russian Telegram channels take videos of Ukrainian media and pass them off as their own. As an example, the “Gwara Media” video about the recruits of the 92nd brigade. Journalists were at the training ground on March 18. A few days later, Russian resources published the same story, but with a caption about the “death” of these fighters in Kurshchyna.

“It was used by manipulated sources whose goal is not to provide quality information, but to achieve their political goals. The same video and completely incorrect information in the text description.” – explains the editor-in-chief of “Gvara Media” Serhiy Prokopenko.

Psychologist Olena Shershnyova advises first of all to take care of yourself. A stable psyche allows better orientation in events.

“So let’s take care of ourselves first. In order to take care of ourselves, we need a digital detox. A digital detox is really about weeding out too much news, it’s about balancing your life. Because right now, for some people, it’s really 90 percent scrolling through news feeds, consuming news. And it’s extremely exhausting. It doesn’t give you any real, real control, just the illusion of control.” she emphasizes.

The consequences of this illusion are hyper-anxiety, insomnia, nervous exhaustion, confusion and a feeling of powerlessness. Shershnyova offers the following balance formula:

– ¼ — to work,
– ¼ — on relationships with others,
– ¼ — for health,
– ¼ — for yourself: development, leisure, hobbies.

“If we really balance, we won’t be able to spend so much time reading the news. As a result, we didn’t become informationally impoverished, but we were filled with energy, because right now we all really lack strength, energy, at least due to lack of sleep and anxiety. And we need to be so greedy for this energy right now, to accumulate energy, to spend it very, very moderately and only where it is really necessary.” — concludes Shershnyova.