Information and Broadcasting Minister Hasan Mahmud has said Facebook and other social networks cannot deny responsibility in spreading posts that led to the recent sectarian violence in Bangladesh.
The minister made the remark on Sunday after attending a meeting with the Bangladesh National Journalists Forum at the secretariat.
“The social media authorities cannot deny that fake posts on Facebook triggered the recent incidents in Bangladesh,” he said.
“We need to think about this as it is a matter of global concern too. We will communicate with different ministries about the matter within this week,” said Hasan Mahmud.
He said the incidents in both Cumilla and Pirganj were blown out of proportion due to social media posts, triggering even bigger clashes.
“The one who kept holy Quran in puja mandap, the one who made him do it, those who created a situation of violence without fact checking and the Facebook authority all are equally responsible for this social unrest,” said Hasan Mahmud.
“We don’t want to control social media but in the past as well the same kind of thing happened using social media,” he said.
Clarity in administrating social media is important to prevent misuse, the minister added.
