Since Thursday, 24 February 2022, I’ve been doom scrolling nearly every day. Yes, I am one of those people who wake up and before doing anything else, I check if president Zelenskyy is still alive and what the latest atrocities in Ukraine are. I do the same before going to bed and have lost countless hours of sleep that way.
What should I have done instead?
I could have signed up as a virtual volunteer in aid of Ukraine, I could have done volunteering in my local area, I could have tidied my flat. As Beverley Knight sang “Shoulda Woulda Coulda means I’m out of time”. I can’t change the past and rather than continuing with doom scrolling or hoping I had done differently, I better set my eyes on more productive behaviours in the future.
The first change I’ll make is to use a different alarm clock. Yes, I will banish my mobile phone which used to be my alarm clock and go back to using an old fashioned one. That alone should give me back half hour every day in the morning.
Further, I’ll limit my news reading to 10 minutes each right after breakfast, lunch and stopping work for the day. This should keep me up to date without taking up too much of my time.
With this new found time, I’ll focus back on my goals of learning new skills as I described earlier this year. I will also continue to support Ukraine, democracy and liberal values as much as I can through actions. I hope you do too.
It is however a good case study in disinformation and misinformation. When listening to the BBC, CNN, NBC, Al Jazeera, one narrative is being presented. When watching QAnon, Fox News or RT (the Russian state owned and sponsored channel), a completely different picture is shown.
Who to believe?
First, it is important to understand that there will always be different narratives depending on who you support. Being aware of this makes it a lot easier to seek out information that is in direct opposition to what we believe in and then analyze it. The Ad Fontes Media Chart is a media bias watchdog organisation and their Ad Fontes Media Chart is one of the better known ones. As is the AllSides Media Bias Chart who groups media outlets into which direction they are leaning.
Being aware of different viewpoints, it is paramount to actually find sources which cover the different angles on the same topic. Looking at the war in Ukraine, I recommend to follow your local news channels, international outlets as well as Ukrainian and Russian news if you can receive them. Yes, it is important to understand and know about different viewpoints, opinions – even if we don’t agree with them. Being able to have better conversations, we may even be able to engage with people who think differently and as a result reduce their bias.
Second, always try and verify information on multiple, reputable sources. Just because something is on a social media platform, doesn’t make it true. I’d suggest you’d be especially cautious if you see a social media comment without the source being quoted. If there is a link to the source, do follow it to make sure it actually matches the message you originally read.
Most importantly, look at the actions and behaviours instead of the words. Words are cheap and easy. Actions and behaviours take effort. Actions and behaviours carry consequences. Therefore, it is a lot harder for someone to cover for actions if they are not aligned with words. So look hard at someone’s behaviour, the consequences and then think about what the reason (justification?) must have been.
A simple example is: if your partner is nice to you and helps with the household chores and brings you flowers or rubs your feet consistently for years, then you can assume they love you and want to be with you. If your partner ignores you, makes jokes about you to his friends or is mean to you, then possibly they don’t love you.
A real life example: look at president Zelenskyy and Putin. Both hold the same role: to govern their respective countries. Both are using traditional and social media to air their point of view. Yet Zelenskyy appears to be fighting with his soldiers to defend his country whilst Putin insists on physical distance even from his closest advisors. Zelenskyy promises Russian soldiers full amnesty and money if they surrender whilst Putin is jailing peaceful protesters. Zelenskyy and his team set up websites to try and return captures soldiers back to their families whilst Putin’s army is bombing civilians including children.
So how will you consume news going forward? Will you focus on multiple news sources? Will you observe actions over words? What actions will you take?
Don’t fall for disinformation and misinformation. Get smart! Get informed!
We have all seen the invasion of Ukraine by Russia last week which is still evolving. Too many people, including civilians and children, have died. Russia’s aggression seems to increase by sending ever more troops, missiles and bombs.
Personally, I’m heartbroken ever time I listen to the news.
Coming form a country which was invaded by Hitler’s Nazi Germany, I remember my grandparents telling me about how the war started. It started exactly the same way in which it is starting in the Ukraine right now.
Flag of Ukraine
I urge you to help the Ukraine any way you can. It may seem difficult to help if you live far away and have never been near a similar war situation before. Please consider these small actions and see if you can find it in you to help:
Donate! Donate! Donate! I understand that not everyone has spare cash to share with people they have never met. Still, I hope that some of you can donate a little to keep help efforts underway. There are plenty of organizations who currently focus on the crisis in and around Ukraine. Some of them are:
Help refugees / charities directly. If you live close to the Ukrainian border, check out local organizations which can direct your efforts to maximize all your combined efforts. Even if you live further afield, have a look around in your community or your online social groups to see if there are self-organizing groups that deliver help to where it’s needed. Every small action to support those in need is welcome.
Educate yourself on the situation in the Ukraine, its history, the cultural differences between the countries in the region and what the actual reason for the invasion is. My strong recommendation is that you seek out news from different news outlets from all parts of the media spectrum to get a full picture of what “both sides” are saying. Then take your time and think and come up with your own conclusion.
Political education should be part of everyone’s curriculum at school. It is paramount that every single person understands how political systems work and how they differ from each other. Only then can they understand what options are on the table when they go to vote.
Unfortunately, this is not the case.
That is why is it up to all of us to seek out political education and learn so that we start to understand the world around us.
Engage in the political process to ensure your country remains free. Some option are to run for office in your local area or join a local school board. You could also be more active in your political party either by taking on an official role or simply by facilitating fair elections. Many seemingly small steps can help: debating on one party versus another in your local social club; trying to increase voter turn out by going door to door and informing locals ahead of the elections or by arranging transport for locals to and from the voting stations.
Vote to keep your own country from falling into dictatorship! Prepare ahead of time by making sure you are eligible to vote on the day or via post. Then vote!
For all of the above points, I urge you to include your children, family and friends. It is vitally important that everyone – especially the next generation – is aware of how bad things can get and what can be done to prevent such a situation from happening time and time again.
Most importantly, you have to stand up to injustice – no matter how small or how big – no matter if you will get hurt yourself in the process – no matter what – you have to stand up for yourself!
