President Alvi calls for curbing fake news

Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan assures media of government’s support for responsible journalism

ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi has said his office will continue to play its constitutional role to create awareness on the most vital social issues such as malnutrition, infant mortality, population growth, and women’s right to inheritance and he has taken all concerned stakeholders on board in this regard

“Unless the nation was equipped with modern concepts and technologies, dream of becoming a progressive and developed country would remain a dream,” the president said on Monday while talking to a delegation of the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE) standing committee.

In the meeting that took place at Aiwan-e-Sadr in Islamabad, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan also took part. Talking to the delegation, the president said media has a very important role to play in bringing about social change in any society.

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While appreciating role of media in general and print media in particular, he warned that all the media stakeholders should be extra careful while confronting with the challenge of fake news, which, he added, is an old phenomenon, but could have disastrous consequences.

“In the recent years, the frequency of fake news has increased, challenging credibility of media.”

He thanked the CPNE for their support for this initiative. The president said Pakistan would support peace process in Afghanistan and actively contribute for its rebuilding.

Earlier, Firdous Ashiq Awan said the guidance and patronage of President Alvi has always been very encouraging for the development of media in Pakistan. She also assured media community of the government’s support for responsible journalism in the country.

CPNE President Arif Nizami expressed gratitude to President Alvi for his constant support to the media community. He said it is responsibility of the media community to check news for accuracy before disseminating it in order to curb the trend of fake news.