ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Information Fawad Chaudhry, has welcomed an action initiated by Facebook and Twitter in fighting the menace of fake news, ARY News reported.
Expressing his gratification to the two major online networking websites in their action against fake news, Mr Chaudhry also appealed the WhatsApp to adopt similar approach to do away with the menace.
Here’s what he said in his tweet: “It’s so welcoming that giants like Twitter and Facebook are now fully committed to regulate their platforms to combat the menace of fake news and hate mongering, YouTube and Whatsapp plz consider same policy for a safer world.”
Mr. Chaudhry had also called for strict action against fake news ‘systematically’ being circulated on the social media in his tweet on Oct 1.
The minister took to Twitter to express his resentment on widespread fake news regarding different government events.
He tweeted: “A series of Fake notifications and news is systematically spread on social media, it started from a media dinner picture and now there is a series of such rubbish. Without effecting freedom on SM we need to take strict action against fake news.”
Two weeks before the general elections in Pakistan on July 25, Facebook had issued a statement underlining renewed measures to protect the polls from any abuse that could potentially harm the integrity of the electoral process.
Similarly, WhatsApp had taken a full-page newspaper ad in a local English daily before the elections, informing users about ways to spot spread of false and fake news in Pakistan.
