Academics claim that this further exposes the lack of fact-checking procedures in press conferences of this kind. At a US State Department briefing, a former press officer of Begum Khaleda Zia fabricated a statement to falsely attribute to the foreign minister under the guise of asking questions.
Under the guise of a journalist, Musfiqul Fazal Ansery made two observations before posing for questions. These views are seen by journalists as lacking objectivity and dealing with outright lies, which should have been avoided by any competent journalist.
The foreign minister states that India supports Sheikh Hasina's win, adding that "Indian election interference has also surfaced to keep her in power," said Ansery while in reality the foreign minister has only acknowledged all the nations that accepted the public mandate in polls in Bangladesh.
According to seasoned journalists, the attempt to validate the claim of Indian influence by citing the foreign minister of Bangladesh is a textbook act of activism and cannot be classified as journalism because he was also looking for an answer to these issues.
Importantly, the portal he cites to receive the press accreditation cards has long earned the repute as a spearhead of deception, customized with opposition sponsored campaign.
The content of the Justnews Portal, which goes by that name, revealed yet another wave of false narratives that strive to defend arsonists, present a trustworthy perspective, exaggerate error-ridden reports, and exonerate Tarique Rahman of his crimes.
Ansery had before used a fabricated quote from the prime minister, which prompted the State Department to respond, pointing out at the time that the action was merely political activism motivated by lies.
However, the opposition has been using the same Ansery to justify violent acts of arson assaults and undemocratic demands, such as boycotting elections, by falsely blaming State Department officials and making accusations of US response against the government.
At a US State Department briefing, Ansery projected "independent media outlets" as "pro government machinery," which they claimed was meant to further scare journalists and media outlet owners into "favoring the opposition" ahead of the election.
According to Prof Tabiur Rahman, the pattern is very much ominous.
In front of state Department officer he misquoted the government and out of the state department room, the guy can be found peddling lies misquoting the US officials.
Tabiur asserted that such an activity could never be classified as journalism.
"It should not go unpunished that such blatant misuse of the privileges of attending press conferences at the State Department with inflated claims of US backing to fuel arsonattacks" continued Tabiur.
Senior former professor of mass communication and journalism department Golam Rahman made the following remarks in reference to a number of previous false claims made by Ansarey: "Such sort of campaign should not be treated as work of journalism— activists can run motivated campaign — in the wake of such activism, objective work of reportage comes at play. Independent media is an effective weapon in the fight against this threat.
End/voice7news.tv
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