BREST, 23 May (BelTA) – Contribution of traditional media to fighting fake news has increased over the last several years, Belarus First Deputy Information Minister Pavel Lyogky said on the sidelines of the 14th Belarusian International Media Forum “Partnership for the Future: Journalism and Social Security”, BelTA has learned.
“Social security does not only mean providing financial support in difficult situations, but also informing people about how this system works. Journalists contribute to social security by dealing with fake news, useless, false and low-quality information. I believe that in the recent years the role of the traditional media in this respect has become more prominent,” Pavel Lyogky noted.
The amount of information and the number of information sources are ever increasing. Nowadays, everyone is eager to assume the functions which were earlier performed by professional journalists only. “Unfortunately, new opportunities go hand in hand with new threats and the amount of low-quality information has increased dramatically,” Pavel Lyogky said. According to him, protecting the society from fake news is a burning issue.
To ensure protection from fake news, appropriate measures should be included into the legal framework and professional media outlets should further improve their work. “We cannot tackle the problem only by imposing restrictions. Digital and printed media should work to enhance the trust of people in them. It is important that these media outlets should employ all possible channels to convey high-quality, accurate information, for example, using social media and multimedia formats,” Pavel Lyogky said.
