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Editorial

Govt urges all not to spread propaganda on social media

Check the source to judge any news’ factuality


Bangladeshpost
Published : 14 Oct 2020 06:57 PM | Updated : 15 Oct 2020 12:08 AM

Social media has been a godsend for people, in many ways. It has allowed family and friends to remain in touch and has become a way for introverts who are habituated to lock themselves up to open up to the World Wide Web and also has provided a platform for extroverts to speak their mind. But at the same time it has also become a scourge because of its abuse and misuse for disseminating what is commonly known as fake news.

In terms of technicality, this is a misnomer as the only criterion for a piece to be news is that it cannot be fake. So, based on this it can be considered that fake news is essentially propaganda that is spread by a group to create unrest or turmoil that entails to some other unscrupulous agenda being fulfilled. Regarding this the government has been really vocal about convincing the people not to pay any heed to propaganda. Even if propaganda might not always be something nefarious, there is a high chance that it may attempt to take control over a target audience.


Even if propaganda might not always be

something nefarious,

there is a strong chance that it may attempt

 to take control over a target audience


A report published in this daily says that all concerned must refrain from spreading all kinds of propaganda through social media to protect the image of the country. We have had a problem about propaganda infiltrating the social media and thus weighing in on the minds of common people for a long time. It augurs well since the government has declared stringent action against anyone found to be spreading propaganda on social media.

All legitimate media outlets make errors, but when they do, they release corrigendum. They also cite reputable sources in news stories, and base opinions on conclusions reached through reliable evidence. This does not mean they won't allow others to disagree, but there comes a point when a media outlet must decline to advance outrageous claims that are specious, even at the risk of drawing allegations of bias.

The best possible way to avoid propaganda is to follow news on popular traditional news media. In this day and age, there are always fingers being pointed towards media for being sources of propaganda. But it is the duty of any conscious reader to get to the source of any news that they might be concerned with before being swayed by it. This just requires the use of common sense to determine the factuality of any news.