SACMID successfully conducted a training on “Fact-Checking” aimed to address the growing challenge of misinformation, fake news, and rumors circulating on social media funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Bangladesh.
The two-day training workshop was held on September 25-26 at the Liberation War Museum seminar room in Dhaka.
Chief guest of the training, Musfika Zaman Satiar, Senior Policy Advisor at the Netherlands Embassy, said, ‘It is crucial to first internalize the truth oneself. Afterwards, it should be consistently disseminated positively within society. Additionally, in today’s world, it is crucial to ensure everyone’s involvement in sharing accurate information.
Training sessions led by two experts: Qadaruddin Shishir, Fact-Checking Editor at (Agence France-Press) AFP Bangladesh Office, and Shuvashish Das, Fact-Checker at Fact Watch.
In the training session trainers discussed topics such as: what is fact-checking, why is fact-checking necessary, how to conduct fact-checking, the process of verifying images, videos, and information, misinformation, disinformation, rumors, which news needs to be fact-checked, and how to present a fact-checking report. These topics were discussed in detail.
Syed Kamrul Hasan, Deputy Director and Program Manager of SACMID, delivered the closing speech. Special guests included Nazar E Zilani, member of SACMID’s Board of Trustees, and Dr. Sheikh Shafiul Islam, Chairman of the Department of Mass Communication and Journalism at United International University. Journalists from various national media outlets working in Dhaka district, teachers, students, and social media content creators participated in the workshop. At the end of the workshop, certificates were awarded to the participants.
As part of an ongoing project title “Combating Mis and Disinformation Sparked by Digital and Social Media Platforms in Bangladesh” SACMID recently conducted a comprehensive two-day ‘Fact-Checking Training’ workshop in Mymensingh, Brahmanbaria, and Dhaka. A combined total of 60 participants from these districts attended the training, which aimed to equip them with the necessary skills to verify information and identify misinformation.