Ukraine, the appeal of Telefono Azzurro: war information for children

The brutality of war. The corpses and buildings destroyed by the bombs. Images, sometimes with identifiable minors and personal data, which “can be harmful to people’s dignity”. Images of this type should be used only “if the use is in their interest and to ensure that the words and tones used in the representation of the war scenes are always respectful of the dignity of the people who are protagonists”. These are some of the exhortations to content producers, media and beyond, listed in “Recommendations for information on war for children”, the appeal developed and promoted by Telefono Azzurro to guarantee a narrative of the war in Ukraine to protect of children’s rights. In the appeal, which the Order of Journalists and numerous international companies such as Meta and Tik Tok have already joined, publishers and managers of social network platforms are also invited to take every reasonable effort possible to limit children’s access to content that may have an excessive impact on their correct and peaceful development. «After two years of pandemic, children find themselves confronted daily with images, words and stories, destined, for their crudeness and drama, to have a dramatic impact on them. Those who work in the media sector therefore have a special responsibility in this historical moment and must guarantee a child-friendly narration of the ongoing war »declared Ernesto Caffo, President of Telefono Azzurro. “For this reason, like Telefono Azzurro, we have elaborated and promoted this appeal to raise awareness of the content creators (journalistic but also documentary, film and political), hoping that all operators, associations and organizations that represent them promote opportunities for discussion and discussion on the relationship between the story of the war and respect for the protection of minors »concluded Caffo. The appeal also includes the proposal to appropriately report, at the beginning of the content, the scenes and images unsuitable for a non-adult public and, where possible, to limit them to parts of the content that may be easily isolated, in case also through the appeal to suitable technological and automated solutions.