রবিবার, ০৩ মে ২০২৬, ০৭:২৭ অপরাহ্ন
DHAKA, May 02, 2026 (BSS)- Information and Broadcasting Minister Zahir Uddin Swapon, MP has said free and independent media is one of the key commitments of the present government in building a modern and democratic state.
“The current government is determined to ensure the free flow of information and come out of the culture of suppressing media which gained ground during the previous government,” he said.
The minister said this while speaking as the chief guest at a seminar titled “New Challenges of Media: Misinformation- Our Course of Action”, organized marking the World Press Freedom Day 2026 at the National Press Club here today.
The event was jointly organized by the Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ) and Dhaka Union of Journalists (DUJ).
The minister said it’s an opportunity to build the state afresh after the August 5, 2024. The culture of vote rigging has gone, and a parliament has been constituted with people’s mandate, he added.
He said people have elected a government through a free election, restored democratic and constitutional process, and a new political context has opened up new avenues of thought.
Highlighting the role of media as the fourth pillar of the state, Swapon said that a free media is essential for a civilized nation.
“The free flow of information is no longer the main barrier; rather, the tendency of distorting the truth by adding personal bias is a major challenge. We must confront attempts to mislead people by presenting information in distorted forms,” he said.
He further said just as humans cannot survive without oxygen, democracy cannot survive without information.
“But if that information is polluted, it becomes harmful to society,” he also said.
Chaired by DUJ President Md. Shahidul Islam, the seminar was also addressed by BFUJ Secretary General Kader Gani Chowdhury and former DUJ President and editor of Jugantor, poet Abdul Hye Sikder.
Speaking at the event, Kader Gani Chowdhury said misinformation is no longer just a digital issue but has become a serious social and political crisis.
He said, “A kind of ‘information terrorism’ is going on in the social media, particularly Facebook and YouTube, which is undermining people’s dignity and rights.”
Expressing concern over information disorder, he added that uncontrolled social media led to spreading rumors, and it’s important to find ways to face the crisis.
At the seminar, poet Abdul Hye Sikder urged the government to revive newspapers like Dainik Bangla, Weekly Bichitra, and The Times.
He said these institutions were once hubs of the country’s most talented journalists but now those are abolished.
Thousands of journalists will find job bringing qualitative change on the newspaper industry if those dailies and weeklies are republished.
Principal Information Officer (PIO) and former general secretary of the National Press Club Syed Abdal Ahmed presented the keynote paper.
Among others, former DUJ President Elahi Newaz Khan Saju, Head of News at Banglavision Dr. Abdul Hai Siddiqui, and Managing Director of the Bangladesh Journalists Welfare Trust Mohammad Abdul Bashir, spoke on the occasion.
DUJ General Secretary Khurshid Alam moderated the seminar while former President of Dhaka Reporters Unity Mursalin Nomani, DUJ Joint Secretary Didarul Alam and Organizing Secretary Hafiz Al Asad (Saeed Khan), were present.
Journalist leaders demanded of the government to ensure cyber security and professional safety to allow journalists to work freely.
