The programme taught journalists how to use the Right to Information Act to fight disinformation and investigate.
Friedrich Nauman Foundation for Freedom (FNF-Pakistan) held a two-day conference that ended on Sunday. The seminar’s primary goal was to educate journalists on how to combat disinformation and conduct investigations by making use of the Right to Information Act.
By guaranteeing citizens’ access to information, the Sindh Transparency and Right to Information Act, 2016, was approved by the Sindh Assembly in March 2017. Its purpose is to encourage openness in the operations of the provincial authorities.
Muhammad Anwar, Head of Programmes and Administration at FNF Pakistan, addressed the participants and stressed the need for journalists to use RTI to support investigative journalism. He went on to say that this would make their claims more credible in the end.
An RTI activist named Syed Raza Ali outlined the five statutes that makeup Pakistan’s RTI framework. He went on to say that journalists, as the “fourth pillar” of democracy, are the people’s representatives when it comes to using the RTI Act to uncover and share information that the public has an interest in. There can be more openness in the public, professional, and social realms if more people, particularly younger journalists, use the RTI Act to get information.
The Sindh Transparency and Right to Information Act 2016 mandates that provincial public organizations furnish sought-after information within fifteen business days. Ali further said that anyone can go to the Sindh Information Commission with complaints if government agencies do not give the sought data. He went on to say that officials who block the flow of information can be directed, summoned, and penalized by the independent appellate authority known as the Sindh Information Commission.
According to rights campaigner Mr. Ubaid Ur Rehman, every journalist needs to know how to verify facts and report to combat fake news. The news media must now adhere more strictly to professional ethics and standards to prevent the dissemination of unsubstantiated claims. In light of the proliferation of misinformation-spreading tools like the internet and AI, he went on to say that it is more crucial than ever to put resources into teaching people to think critically.
At the end of the session, former lawmaker Ms. Mangla Sharma said that, rather than concentrating on breaking news to combat fake news, the media should follow media ethics.
The seminar’s over 30 attendees—including students, rights activists, and journalists—praised FNF-Pakistan for hosting the event and urged their respective organizations to host similar seminars for young journalists in the future. The goal was to encourage investigative reporting.