MPs should refute anti-govt propaganda using social media: Joy

The prime minister’s son and honorary adviser Sajeeb Ahmed Wazed has urged Awami League lawmakers to refute anti-government propaganda through the effective use of social media.

More familiar as Joy, the prime minister's son made these remarks during a workshop titled ‘Introducing Members of Parliament Through Social Media’ at the Awami League president’s offices in Dhanmondi on Sunday.

“It is no longer possible to receive votes by doing your job and just sitting around,” he said. “This is the age of publicity. We must refute propaganda by publicising our achievements.”

Joy said he believed a continuous propaganda campaign has been underway against the Awami League since 1975.

The government ‘has to bear this propaganda’ even after ‘all the work it has done’, said Joy. This is why it is no longer possible to just allow your work to speak for you, he said.

Joy, who is the prime minister’s adviser on Information and Communication Technology, urged those at the workshop to make social media posts about the development work done by the government.

“Try to post at least once a day,” he said. “You can even post twice or thrice. Share the posts that we make. These posts can go viral.”

“I know that using technology is sometimes difficult, but you must try. We will help you as much as we can.”

“And if you are uncomfortable, or do not feel brave enough to do so, I request that you hire a personal secretary who can post on social media.”

MPs will be taught how to get their accounts verified, said Joy. Such accounts will become their official accounts, he said.

“In this way we can reach people, especially young people, and say what we have to say, inform more people of the work we do and challenge the spread of propaganda.”

The three-day workshop was organised by the Awami League  and inaugurated by the party’s General Secretary Obaidul Quader. State Minister for Information Technology Junaid Ahmed Palak, among others, spoke at the event.