<div style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Bangladesh Institute of Peace and Security Studies (BIPSS) President Major General (Retd) ANM Muniruzzaman has said Information space has to be filled up by correct information.</span><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"If there is no right information in the information space, the space will be filled up by disinformation," he said while speaking at a policy café titled 'Role of Media in Democracy' on Thursday.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">BIPSS, in collaboration with USAID, IFES, and CEPPS, organised the policy café.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ayesha Kabir, Head of English Web at Prothom Alo, and Shahriar Feroze, Editorial Chief of The Daily Observer, shared invaluable insights on the vital role of media in shaping democratic discourse.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Muniruzzaman moderated discussions, fostering an engaging exchange.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The event emphasised the integral role of media in the democratic process, particularly as Bangladesh approaches a pivotal election.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The collaborative effort underscores a commitment to promoting informed democratic engagement.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Muniruzzaman stated the importance of media in a democratic society, especially in the case of Bangladesh where the national election is not far away, the media will play a major role.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In such circumstances, overcoming the challenges of the freedom of media in the democratic society is a significant issue.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ayesha asserted that in a country where the opposition is not very strong, the media plays a very important role to get the voice of the people heard.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the context of Bangladesh, she said, an active role of media is necessary but often it faces obstacles by political entities, corporate, or even by the foreign entities which must be avoided to ensure a vibrant democratic society.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">According to Shahriar, the media is supposed to ensure the meaningful participation of the people in democracy.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But the challenges and restrictions that the media faces from the government and the other entities have an adverse effect which threatens a democratic society, he said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In response to the question about how media influences people’s decision-making, Ayesha highlighted the information and the analysis that are provided by the media and the mass people get the idea of what is going on around them.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But social media, in this case, plays both a positive and negative role, she said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As a lot of fake news, misinformation and disinformation are spread by social media, it affects the people negatively.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But on the bright side, people mostly rely on the mainstream media to check the facts they find in the social media and thus, social media does a favour to the mainstream media.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Shahriar, while discussing the slipping down of the ranking of the freedom of press in Bangladesh, asserted that despite having a rich media industry, ranking is going down.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He analysed some statistics and showed that despite the increase of the TV channels and media presence in Bangladesh, they are not focusing on ensuring the rights of the people, rather the channel owners and the government have a symbiotic relationship.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ayesha thinks that the media should be bold despite all the pressures from various entities and strike a balance between everything.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Genuine investigation and fact checking must be ensured, she said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Shahriar thinks that the fake news and misinformation are spread mainly through the social media and so, the focus should be on how to reduce the dependency from social media and relying more on mainstream media.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Also, while talking about ethics, he questioned the ownership of the media channels and the linkage between them and the government is a cause of the failure to ensure professional journalism and overcoming the other existing challenges.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The discussion at the Policy Cafe was followed by an interactive session where the audience shared some observations that it becomes difficult to find authentic information as different types of information come from several sources.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The session also included topics like the possible impact of social media (like TikTok) in upholding democracy.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Besides, the topic like robust media has come in front while discussing the media’s role in shaping public perception.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The event was attended by ambassadors and diplomats based in Dhaka, academicians, journalists, students from different universities, and scholars. UNB</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>