Deputy Head of Mission of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Bangladesh Thijs Woudstra has called for joint efforts to fight against rumours, misinformation, and disinformation.
He was speaking at a meeting with stakeholders in Brahmanbaria district as the chief guest on Thursday.
South Asia Centre for Media in Development (SACMID) organized the meeting titled "Raising Community Awareness to Prevent Rumour, Mis and Dis-information on Social Media Platforms."
A total of 54 participants, including journalists, government and NGO officials, teachers, students, influencers, social, religion, and opinion leaders- activists from Brahmanbaria district took part in the meeting held at the conference room of Brahmanbaria Press Club.
Among others, Syed Kamrul Hasan, Program Manager of the project and the Deputy Director of SACMID, Namia Akhter, Senior Policy Adviser of the Embassy and Sheikh Adnan Fahad, Associate Professor of the Department of Journalism and Media Studies of Jahangirnagar University, Baharul Islam Molla, general secretary of Brahmanbaria Press Club and others were present.
During the meeting, the participants shared their thoughts, learnings, and experiences following the implementation of the project in the area.
They highlighted the issues caused by the spread of rumours in Brahmanbaria and discussed how their participation in the project activities has led to greater awareness and understanding of combating misinformation and disinformation.
Expressing gratitude, they also voiced their expectations for expanding such programs to remote areas to achieve a more significant impact.
The project, funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and implemented by SACMID, aims to empower communities with the knowledge and tools needed to identify and prevent the spread of false information on social media platforms.
This initiative is a crucial step towards building a more informed and resilient society by increasing media literacy and access to information, ensuring the right to information regarding SDG goals both directly and passively.