Unite to fight disinformation: Arafat
State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Mohammad Ali Arafat today said the government, civil society, and mass media can be partners in the fight against agenda-based motivated journalism and disinformation campaigns.
He said this while speaking at a panel discussion at the MIDAS centre in the capital's Dhanmondi on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day.
Unesco, Transparency International Bangladesh and Article 19 organised the discussion titled "Press Freedom and Freedom of Expression in the Context of the Current Global Environmental Crisis".
Arafat said the government always promotes reporting on climate or any other issues as long as it is based on facts and evidence, even if the government is criticised in the report.
"We do have an understanding that press freedom is all about right reporting. However, when press freedom is abused through disinformation campaigns, it negatively affects the democratic progress of society and the people at large," Arafat said.
"Therefore, we need to be very careful about it and I also believe that it is very important to combat disinformation...," he said.
Swedish Ambassador Alexandra Berg von Linde, Unesco Representative to Bangladesh and Head of Office Susan Vize and TIB Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman took part in the discussion, among others.
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