Media people, academics denounce misinformation involving PM Hasina

A statement falsely attributed to Bangladesh Prime Minister raised at a US state department briefing by a former press official of Begum Khaleda Zia reiterated the call by rights activists and journalists for not counting on "single and controversial" source for receiving information and drawing judgements, reports UNB.

Under the pretext of asking question to Mathew Miller, Spokesperson for US Department of State, Mushfiqul Fazal Ansarey put forward a statement turned out grossly inaccurate with many calling it a "deliberate and ill motivated attempt" to drive a wedge in bilateral ties between the two countries.

In reference to a small but strategic island Ansarey, who served as an assistant press secretary during BNP's last stint can be heard saying "Bangladesh PM said US wants to grab Saint Martin" in a media briefing asking response from the spokesperson.

"Such outright egregious assertion can no way fall in ambit of journalism, defies all academic criterion of what we consider work of journalism in academic arena. Rather we can better describe such act as textbook case of propaganda peddling," AAMS Arefin Siddiq, a former Vice Chancellor of Dhaka University and a former professor at its journalism department.