The Code of Conduct in social media just launched for the deputies of “United Russia”, one of the parties in power, contains 11 points. These are behavioral prohibitions and examples of behaviors deemed deplorable.
Deputies must not violate the party’s ethical norms “with deeds, words and texts”. They shouldn’t “hurry to react in social networks and comment for the media: the media benefits of “being the first” can turn into the statement “I was wrong” (misguided, deceived, just to “capture the hype”).
It is categorically not recommended to comment on the international agenda, military and internal conflicts in other countries without agreed preliminary indications or before the official position of the Russian Foreign Ministry.
Furthermore, it is categorically forbidden to write on social networks “in altered physical and mental conditions”.
It is necessary to adhere to the elementary norms of the culture of the word, not to use obscene vocabulary and jargon, which can be interpreted in an equivocal way or give opponents a reason to “troll”.
You need to control your emotions and reactions, especially in the case of discussions and provocations on social media.
MPs are also discouraged from posting photos of “luxury items” and anything else that “may convey an image of a ‘privileged class’ in the eyes of the public”.
The Code of Conduct in social networks also presents some examples of “misconduct” harmful to the image of the party: Sultan Khamzaev, deputy of “United Russia”, in January 2022 during the protests in Kazakhstan, spoke out in favor of “a referendum in Kazakhstan on reunification with the historic Motherland – Russia”, while Oleg Matveichev, another deputy of “United Russia”, in the same period, said that the Almaty businessmen who called for Nursultan Nazarbayev’s dismissal “should suffer”. The latter later apologized for his post.
