Steps to be taken to stop illegal news portals: Arafat 

State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Mohammad Ali Arafat has said that steps will be taken to stop the operation of unregistered and illegal online news portals.

The state minister said this at a meeting with the executive committee of the Online News Portal Association Bangladesh (ONAB) at the conference room of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry in the Bangladesh Secretariat on Tuesday (April 16).

“As you, the journalists, have demanded to stop the operation of unregistered and illegal online news portals, I completely agree with you. I will take steps to meet your demand,” he said.

The government of Bangabandhu’s daughter Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina believes in free media and full freedom of the press, Arafat said, adding, “We have no intention to monitor or control the media or online news portals.”
 
He also agreed to the demand of journalists that extending support and giving incentive to the registered news portals are needed to promote responsible journalism.

Pointing that many flashy, false and disinformation campaigns are carried out by unregistered news portals, Arafat said it is a good thing that all professional journalists said that it (spreading disinformation) hurts them and demanded to bring discipline in the media industry.

ONAB President Mollah M Amzad Hossain, Vice-presidents Latiful Bari Hamim and Soumitra Deb, Joint Secretaries Siddiqur Rahman and Ashraful Kabir Asif and Executive Members Nazrul Islam Mithu, Touhidul Islam Mintu, Rafiqul Bashar, Hamid Md Jasim, Mohsin Hossain, Ayon Ahmed and Khokon Kumar Roy.