Davos: Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus today asked Meta to take steps to tackle misinformation and fake news being spread through Facebook in Bangladesh. The chief adviser made the call when he held talks with Sir Nick Clegg, the head of global affairs at Meta, on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum annual meeting in the Swiss city of Davos, Chief Adviser’s Deputy Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad Majumder told BSS.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, Prof Yunus accused oligarchs and politicians linked to the toppled dictatorship of Sheikh Hasina of siphoning off tens of billions of dollars from Bangladesh during her 15 years of rule. He claimed these individuals are now utilizing their fortunes to disseminate lies and misinformation about Bangladesh. Prof Yunus conveyed these concerns to Clegg, who is also a former deputy prime minister of England.
Sir Nick Clegg responded by assuring that Facebook would persist with fact-checking and digital verification in Bangladesh, recognizing its importance as the eighth most populous nation globally. He clarified that Meta’s decision to halt fact-checking in the United States would not affect Bangladesh or European countries. He further mentioned that Facebook might enhance its digital verification service in Bangladesh and explore enabling users to contribute to fact-checking, akin to Wikipedia’s model.
During their thirty-minute discussion, Clegg also offered Meta’s support in formulating a new cyber security law, citing the company’s extensive experience in this field. Additionally, he highlighted Llama, Meta’s newly launched open-sourced large language model AI, which he believes could transform sectors such as healthcare, farming, and education in Bangladesh. Prof Yunus expressed interest in having Meta conduct month-long training programs on Llama in Bangladesh, suggesting it could create new opportunities for the country’s youth.
The meeting also included Probir Mehta, Director of Policy Planning at Meta; Lamiya Morshed, the SDG Coordinator of the Bangladesh government; and Tareq Ariful Islam, Bangladesh’s permanent representative to Geneva.