Call for regulations to counter disinformation

Information minister stresses on need to overcoming 'fake' news

ISLAMABAD: Participants of a media conference believe that in a majority of South Asian countries, mainstream media, especially electronic media, is being used to impose any set agenda by influencing people's mind, and it has also become a greater challenge to regulate social media and counter-check the credibility of information being shared on various networks such as Twitter and Facebook.

The three-day conference, South Asian Media Conference 2018, commenced in Islamabad on Friday. Organised by the Pakistan Media Development Foundation, the conference is being attended by delegates from various South Asian countries including prominent media persons from India, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

The delegates talked about the current challenges facing the media, the role of media in narrative building and the use and misuse of such platforms.

The second day of the conference had three sessions including, 'Media in Narrative Building', 'Cross-Border Media Interaction in South Asia' and 'Social Media in Shaping The Public Opinion'.

During the first session, the participants concluded that mainstream media is focusing more on highlighting negative aspects of certain issues by creating hype and giving more space to political stories rather than social issues, such as poverty, water woes, sanitations, health, and education among others.

They said since every media outlet has its own vested interest and working on some set agenda, it tries to shape the public opinion accordingly.

In the second session, speakers noted there is no such concept of border media interaction among South Asian countries. They stressed the need for more people-to-people contact through different mediums.



Sridhar Kumaraswami from India said media organisations in Pakistan and India are giving different pictures of what is happening in Indian Occupied Kashmir. He said people in India have high respect for Pakistani authors and writers.

Answering a question regarding India's point of view over China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), he said India has various routes for trade and has its own policies in this regard.

In the third session, Sanjay Kapoor from India talked about fake Twitter accounts of well-known politicians and celebrities and their misuse. He said social media regulation can help keep a check on the flow of fake news and misuse of fake accounts.

Mahendra Bista from Nepal said in his country, focus is more on educating youth through social media. He expressed his belief that regulation of social media is not a good option.

Meanwhile, Arshad Sharif from Pakistan said with the passage of time, the number of internet users and social networking websites is increasing across the globe. He said there is both positive and negative use and impact of social media.

Earlier while addressing the inaugural session of the conference, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb said currently everyone around the globe is discussing how to counter fake news and disinformation. She said media is playing an important role in highlighting and addressing national issues.

"We for the first time are completing ten years of democracy without any interruption," she said, adding that at present Pakistan is going through defining moments. "Currently Pakistani media is also facing numerous challenges," she added.

The federal minister invited participants of the conference to give their valuable suggestions for promoting freedom of expression. She said promoting people-to-people contact in the region could help in conflict resolution.

About Pakistan's role in countering terrorism, she said the country has rendered unprecedented sacrifices against terrorism and dealt with it in an unprecedented way in the region.

"Today, there is a 92% reduction in terror related incidents in Pakistan," said Marriyum, adding that CPEC is a project of mega infrastructure investment being made in different parts of the country.