Media workers dialogue to prevent fake news and rumours

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A dialogue was held with senior editors and journalists, fact-checkers and social media influencers from various media and local newspapers in the country to analyze the current situation regarding misinformation, fake news and rumors in bangladesh. In Rajshahi on Saturday (March 11), the research institute Center for Governance Studies in collaboration with the US State Department organized this dialogue titled ‘Confronting Misinformation in bangladesh‘. During the open discussion, various problems of journalism in the country were clarified and the resulting spread of misinformation, fake news and rumours. Among the issues discussed are – blocking or non-disclosure of data, government’s lack of will and disinformation, fear of digital security laws, constant workload of reporters and consequent lack of quality news, safety of journalists, media houses owned by influential people and their own agendas. implementation etc. Also, emphasis is placed on coordinating with fact-checkers to verify accurate information in the media and how to verify information. In the discussion, the professor of mass communication and journalism department of Rajshahi University, Dr. Pradeep Kumar Pandey said: Government, opposition parties, certain individuals and many times various organizations use the media for their personal interests. As a result, according to research, 99 percent of people cannot believe these information published in the media. He added: We live in an ocean of information. Social media cannot be excluded as a source of information at this time. He also discussed the challenges of journalism and their security in the context of bangladesh. Later, Minhaj Aman, chief researcher at Dismiss Lab, a fact-checking institution, said: news reporters should keep fact-checking issues in mind before any news report. Editors, news editors, sub-editors and reporters all have important roles to play in mitigating this problem of misinformation. They are trying to identify which mainstream media is spreading misinformation and find fake news. At the end of the dialogue, the media workers participated in a survey and discussed among themselves various ways of action to prevent the presentation of wrong and misleading information in the media. ‘Confronting Misinformation in bangladesh‘ is the fifth event of CGS series on the subject. After that such discussion and training will be organized in Dhaka and outside Dhaka. CGS Executive Director Zillur Rahman moderated the dialogue.
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