Misleading content should not be spread in the name of freedom of expression: Minister Timilsina

Kathmandu. Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Dr Bikram Timilsina, has urged the media sector to focus on responsible journalism by staying away from rumour and unverified information.

Speaking at a press meet organized at Bidur municipality-4 in Battar on Sunday, he said although freedom of expression was important, it was not appropriate to spread misleading materials in the name of it.

He stressed the need for media and social media users to follow self discipline and code of conduct.

“The government is not in favour of finding solutions to all problems only through action, the media sector itself needs to be responsible,” he said.

Minister Timilsina said that serious analysis should be done on the impact of every news and misinformation can cause big damage in a short span of time.

He also informed that the government has implemented a new policy to bring transparency in government advertisements and publication of information.

According to him, the system of disseminating government information through government media is related to transparency. According to him, the government was moving ahead to remove the irregularities raised by the media sector itself.

The government could not be effective until the media sector became strong and responsible, he said, adding that the government was committed to protecting working journalists. He stressed on fact-based and solution-oriented journalism.

Minister Timilsina clarified that the government has adopted the policy of answering through work and results. “The government believes in policies and results, not rumours. The government will be accountable if the media and all citizens can raise questions and caution based on the truth,” he said.

Stating that works have been begun taking into account the people’s needs within a short period of the formation of the new government, he said service delivery, good governance and development have been prioritized.

Urging the citizens to continuously question and monitor the government, he called for truth-based criticism and suggestions. He also informed that the government has come up with a plan to facilitate service delivery by increasing the use of technology.