Chief adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus on Wednesday said that Bangladesh鈥檚 media were now enjoying an unprecedented freedom, but misinformation and disinformation had flooded the social media.
He made the remarks when a delegation of the Open Society Foundations, headed by its chairman, Alex Soros, and president Binaifer Nowrojee, called on him expressing support for reforms undertaken by the interim government.
The foundations鈥� leadership discussed Bangladesh鈥檚 efforts to rebuild the economy, trace siphoned-off assets, combat misinformation and carry out vital economic reforms.
During the meeting, Alex Soros commended Yunus for leading the country at a critical time in its history and shepherding reforms needed to fix the country鈥檚 institutions and rebuild the economy.
He said the student-led mass uprising has given 鈥榞reat opportunities鈥� to set a new course for the country.
They discussed issues ranging from the July uprising, transitional justice for the victims of struggle, economic reforms, media, recovery of stolen assets, the new cybersecurity laws and how to improve them and the Rohingya crisis.
鈥榃e will explore ways to support your efforts in these areas,鈥� Alex Soros said.
Professor Yunus thanked the Open Foundation for its support, and urged it to do more for spread the news of the unprecedented student-led uprising, which had brought down a brutal dictatorship. 鈥榃hat I witnessed during my visit to Davos was that not many people know about the July uprising. There is a lot of disinformation.鈥�
The chief adviser asked the Foundation to help the country in 鈥榓sset tracing鈥� in order to bring back some 234 billion dollars siphoned off during Sheikh Hasina鈥檚 16-year-long rule.
Professor Yunus said the interim government inherited a 鈥榙evastated and war-torn鈥� economy, and he sought the Foundation鈥檚 support in the rebuilding process.
The Foundation also expressed its desire to help Bangladesh鈥檚 crucial LDC graduation鈥攁 move welcomed by the Chief Adviser.
鈥榃e have to think about how to do the transition without any problems,鈥� he said.