The two-day Digital Verification and Fact Checking Training organized by the Information and Communication Technology Division for public relations officers of various ministries ended today (April 16, 2025). ICT Division Secretary Sheesh Haider Chowdhury announced the completion of the training at the ICT Tower in Agargaon.
Yesterday, on Tuesday, Special Assistant to the Principal Advisor and in-charge of the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunication and Information Technology, Faiz Ahmed Tayyab inaugurated the training as the chief guest and said, a lot of misinformation is constantly being spread on social media. Immediate action must be taken against this. After August 5, Bangladesh has faced the biggest cyber war in its history. Now misinformation, false information and cyber war have increased compared to any other time. In this situation, we have no option but to increase our capacity.
The spread of false information currently in cyberspace will increase with the upcoming elections. We must be ready to prevent this spread. It should be remembered that false information destroys the social harmony of the country, so there is an opportunity to minimize or avoid this issue. We will need facts and figures to check incorrect information and false information. He also commented that we need to ensure that these facts and figures are authentic.
In his closing remarks, the Secretary said that in the current digital age, fake news and misleading information are spreading rapidly, which can have a negative impact on the government’s activities. If public relations officers acquire the skills to verify information, they can play a more effective role in reaching the real message of the government to the people.
While expressing his reaction after the training, Deputy Chief Information Officer A. K. M. Kamrul Ahsan, working at the Police Headquarters, said that such training is very timely and important in the current context. As a result of this training, the skills of public relations officers will be further sharpened. We will be able to effectively refute disinformation and propaganda against the country, government and various government agencies by utilizing the knowledge and skills gained in the training. On the one hand, rumors can be prevented, and on the other hand, the image of the country and the government will also be bright. I think it is necessary to continue organizing such training in the future.
Md. Faisal Hasan, Public Relations Officer (Deputy Chief Information Officer) of the Ministry of Home Affairs, said, “Just as there is a free flow of information through various mainstream media, including social media, misinformation and misinformation are being spread in various ways, whether intentionally or unintentionally. Therefore, verifying the truth of any information or fact checking is very important to deliver accurate information to the public. Through this training, we have learned about various online/digital tools (software and websites) for fact checking. We have gained a proper understanding of how to do fact checking, firsthand. I think the training will be very useful in our workplace. I express my sincere thanks and gratitude to the ICT Division for organizing this training.”
Dipankar Bor, Public Relations Officer (Deputy Chief Information Officer) of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Affairs, said that the training teaches digital content verification, methods of using open-source intelligence tools, and practical strategies for dealing with disinformation. In the future, if more timely modules and regular refresher courses are introduced, including deepfake detection, AI content identification, the professional skills of public relations officers will further increase.
Md. Alamgir Hossain, Public Relations Officer (C. Information Officer) of the Ministry of Housing and Public Works, said that this training will play a role in preventing and identifying misinformation, incorrect information, and rumors. The tools that can be used to check misinformation and disinformation have been highlighted by the resource persons. We have learned the usage and practical aspects, which will be helpful in the ministry’s dissemination of accurate information and prevention of misinformation.
Abdul Malek, Public Relations Officer of the Ministry of Labor and Employment, said, “Through the Digital Verification and Fact Checking training organized by the ICT Division for public relations officers involved in the publicity activities of various ministries and departments of the government, we learned about the techniques for quickly identifying rumors, misinformation, incorrect information or propaganda and identifying fake news spread through deepfake technology. We have acquired the skills of digital source cross-checking, data analysis and primary source identification. In addition, we have understood how to share personal information or which links are safe to click on. – We have learned the techniques for finding accurate news using tools like FactCheck.org, Snopes, AFP Fact Check.
The resource person in the training was Qadruddin Shishir, who is a leading fact checker and media professional of Bangladesh. Earlier, he worked as a former editor of AFP FactCheck Bangla. Also present was Minhaj Aman, who is a disinformation researcher and trainer. He is working as a lead researcher at a media research organization called Dismiss Lab. The training was facilitated by Maruf Ahmed, an information integrity researcher.
It is worth noting that under the guidance of Fayez Ahmed Tayyab, Special Assistant to the Chief Advisor in charge of the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology, the Information and Communication Technology Division has organized such training for the first time for public relations officers of various ministries.
