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Chief adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus on Sunday asked Meta, the parent company of Facebook, to address the disinformation campaign against Bangladesh run from certain countries to undermine the July-August mass uprising.

‘There’s a massive disinformation campaign, and we are the sufferers,’ the chief adviser told Meta’s director for human rights policy, Miranda Sissons, when she called on him at the state guest house Jamuna in Dhaka.

At a press briefing by the chief adviser’s media wing on the day, meanwhile, press secretary Shafiqul Alam iterated the government’s commitment to bring back ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina from India to make her accountable for the genocide perpetrated during the July-August student-led mass uprising.

At her meeting with the chief adviser, Miranda Sissons explained to Yunus the human rights policy of Meta saying that they remained alert to prevent anyone from using their platforms to spread disinformation.

Yunus also asked Meta to make its technology more user-friendly for young entrepreneurs.

‘Technology is a tool to make things happen. But technology doesn’t decide what we want to do with things. So, we have to reengineer it to make it perfect,’ he said.

‘With Facebook you have a tremendous amount of possibility. Facebook could be used to turn young people entrepreneurs,’ he said.

Yunus said that the Bangladesh government would remain engaged with Facebook for the benefit of the country’s young population.

Besides, Lord Mark Malloch-Brown, an adviser of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank and a former head of the United Nations Development Programme, on Sunday called on the chief adviser at Jamuna.

During the meeting, the chief adviser said that reform was the key word of the July-August student-led mass uprising, and his government was committed to carrying out major reforms before holding a free and fair election.

The hour-long talks covered wide-ranging issues, including the mass uprising in July-August, development issues, interim government’s reform initiatives, disinformation campaign targeting the student-led movement, healthcare, social business and microcredit.

Press secretary to the chief adviser Shafiqul Alam, meanwhile on the day, at a press conference at the Foreign Service Academy in Dhaka city invited the Indian media to come to Bangladesh instead of spreading false information.

‘We invite them for coming to Bangladesh and report from the ground because the accuracy of any report cannot be confirmed without going to the spot,’ he said.

‘We believe that if they come here, the misinformation being spread on the Indian TV and other media outlets will largely reduce,’ he added.

In reply to a question, Shafiqul Alam also said that the government would bring Sheikh Hasina back and hand her over to the law.

‘Sheikh Hasina was the mastermind behind the genocide during the July mass uprising while enforced disappearances and public money laundering occurred during her tenure.’

‘The government’s commitment is to bring her to justice and we must do it,’ he said.

Referring to the prisoner exchange agreement with India, the press secretary also said that the government was currently working on the procedures.

‘The government is working to fulfil those procedures. After that, we will formally ask India to extradite her,’ he added.

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Director for human rights policy of Meta, Miranda Sissons, calls on chief adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus at the state guest house Jamuna in Dhaka on Sunday.Ìý Focus Bangla photo