Information Minister Hasan Mahmud has urged journalists to verify any news before publishing it.
His call came on Wednesday (May 29) while speaking at a discussion in memory of musician Shubir Nandi.
“Videos and photos of farmers setting paddy fields being on fire are going viral on social media. These are then published as news,” he said.
He added that there has been an instance when a paddy field being set ablaze in India has been reported as a Bangladeshi incident in the media.
“Does it not affect the society?” he asked and added, “Verify these kind of news before publishing them.”
Terming the social media as an unedited platform, he said that the videos, comment and information there are at times creating unrest in the society.