Social media to remain free

The government's handling of rumours on social media in times of crises, including the recent demonstrations for road safety, was not efficient, speakers told a roundtable yesterday.

When flow of information is blocked or there is no proper information management, rumours spread, they said.

The discussion, on mass media's role regarding rumours spread through Facebook, was organised by the Press Institute of Bangladesh and Investigative Journalism Centre and held at the PIB headquarters in the city.

Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu, who was the chief guest, said Facebook and other social media would remain free though rumours and provocative posts were being spread using those platforms.

Spreading rumours and lies, however, won't be tolerated, he added.

Monjurul Ahsan Bulbul, chief executive officer and chief editor of Ekushey Television, said, “In times of crises, the government can be a source of verified news for the media.”

Rumours are spread to gain political benefits, he said, adding, “If we look at the rumours, we will see that it was coming from .... Jamaat, they spread rumours through a Facebook page named Basherkella.”

Shahnaz Sharmeen, chief reporter of Nagorik TV, said, “If we had been allowed to broadcast from the Awami League office in Dhanmondi during the road safety protests, the rumours would not have spread.”

Other discussants said causing a “blackout” of news was not the solution, and fake news should be countered with real ones.

Syed Ishtiaque Reza, editor-in-chief of GTV, said unverified information was in abundance on social media.

“Facebook can only be used as a clue for news, but not a source,” he said.

Rahat Minhaz, journalism teacher at Jagannath University, said, “We saw miscreants using firearms and wearing helmets. We saw journalists being beaten up. If the government takes no step against them, why would people believe them?”

Mahmud Menon, executive editor of online news portal sarabangla.net, said, “To tackle fake news, real news should be published more.”

Shah Alamgir, director general of PIB, said rumours were not a good sign for the society.

“The national election is ahead and the government should build a mechanism to tackle rumours and take lessons from the past,” he added.

Others suggested the government have spokespersons providing verified news and updates of developing events.

Information Minister Inu said he would talk to the people concerned in the government about appointing a spokesperson in times of crises and circulating news updates at the right time on verified Facebook pages.

He also said the government would start a campaign against rumours and fake news after the Eid.

The journalists said there was a lack of co-operation from different government agencies during incidents like the BDR mutiny and Holey Artisan attacks. The mass media were in the dark.

They cited the example of the rescue of a teenage football team from a cave in Thailand, where the government sincerely handled the information management for media.

The speakers said just as people should be aware of rumours, journalists should also be aware of the authenticity of their news.

Some journalists present at the roundtable took up the issue of a photograph, which was published in a national daily with the claim that the photo was taken at the recent student protest. The photo was actually taken in 2012 and it was shared on social media by ruling party followers with the false claim.

The national daily published the photo without verifying it and later apologised.

Shahnaz Sharmeen said, “My daughter is in class IX and she took part in the student protest for road safety. When the rumours spread on Facebook about the incident in Jhigatola, I could not convince her that it was not true as there was no information on broadcast media.

“She still did not believe me when I showed her The Daily Star and the Prothom Alo. She said the media was censored and not telling the truth.

“If being a journalist, I cannot convince my daughter, then how will the general people believe us?”

She said such a situation arose because there was a lack of information.