Advisor to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Nahid Islam, today stated that the media is free from government pressure and urged them to play a key role in the fight against disinformation.

“The media should present objective news as they are free from government pressure,” Nahid said at a brainstorming meeting with newspaper editors at the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

The advisor said the lack of accurate information is allowing rumors and misinformation to sow confusion among people.

“The media will have to play a leading role in preventing such rumors and misinformation,” he said, adding that the interim government believes in press freedom.

He said the media should spread the stories of the sacrifices of those who were killed and injured in the student-led uprising to keep them alive in people’s memories.

The advisor said the media could not publish facts out of fear during the previous fascist government. But that era of media muzzling is over, he added.

He urged journalists to publish information about all the misdeeds of the previous government, including forced disappearances and corruption.

On media reforms, Nahid Islam said the government has already formed a commission. The media will be reformed based on the commission’s report.

At the meeting, newspaper editors and representatives stated that there is currently no government interference in the media.

Emphasizing the role of the media in establishing good governance in the country, they said fascism could not have emerged in the country if the media had been allowed to play its role in the last 16 years.

They also demanded the formulation of a separate policy for English newspapers.

Information and Broadcasting Secretary Mahbuba Farzana, Film and Publications Department Director General Abul Kalam Mohammad Shamsuddin, Bangladesh Journalists Welfare Trust Director General Muhammad Abdullah and editors and representatives of newspapers were present at the meeting. exchange of opinions.