Govt wants rumour-free mass media : Arafat

State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Mohammad Ali Arafat on Thursday said the government wants disinformation, misinformation and rumour-free mass media that will ensure free flow of authentic information to hold the authorities accountable, reports BSS.
"We want disinformation and rumour free mass media along with ensuring full freedom of the press," he said at a meeting with Association of Television Channel Owners (ATCO) leaders at his ministry's conference room in the Bangladesh Secretariat in the city.
The government wants to ensure the space for mass media to question and criticise the authorities and even the government, but it (criticism) must have to be based on factually correct information, Arafat said.
The mass media also must have a room for the government to reply to those questions and criticisms, he added.
The ATCO leaders led by its Senior Vice President and DBC Chairman Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury met Arafat to welcome him on his appointment as the state minister for information and broadcasting.
At the onset of the programme, the ATCO leaders greeted the state minister with a bouquet.
At the first cabinet meeting of the new government, Arafat said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has instructed the cabinet members to take the criticism over the government's failure and mistakes based on true information into account and correct those.
The premier did not oppose the criticism but she wants that it must be based on authentic information as the partly-true information appeared to be more dangerous than false information, the state minister added.
The Prime Minister, however, instructed the cabinet members to remain aware so the criticism, based on malicious intention, ill-motive and agenda-driven, could not affect the government activities and asked them to continue works for the interest of the country and its people, Arafat continued.