The members of the Press Council called on the journalists and media outlet managers to treat subjects concerning the risk of involving children in secret and dangerous virtual games with maximum prudence so as not to cause panic in society. The media outlets are urged to refrain from speculations, exaggerations and generalizations and use facts only and a neutral language, IPN reports.

The Press Council said that taking into account the opinions and recommendations of psychologists, understanding that the intention of journalists when writing subjects is to contribute to protecting teens and preventing tragedies, realizing that suicide is a very sensitive and difficult subject, the journals are urged to avoid the publication of names, hashtags and detailed descriptions of dangerous games.

The media outlets are also recommended to avoid sensational titles and dissemination of shocking images in the wish to artificially increase the readers’ interest, not to publish names and pictures or other data about the identity of victims or possible victims of dangerous virtual games, to take into account the deontological norms, the norms described in the “Style guide with ethical norms for journalists” and “Guide of good journalistic practices. Covering of suicide cases”, and to consult specialists before producing reports, if need be, so as to avoid mistakes.