80pc news on social media are fake: PML-N senator

LAHORE: PML-N Senator Kulsoom Perveen, convener of the sub-committee of the Senate Standing Committee for Information Technology, has said parliamentarians and citizens are being defamed through propaganda on the social media. She asked the CIA Cyber Crime Cell to take action against the culprits.

A meeting of the sub-committee was held under the chair of Senator Kulsoom Perveen. The meeting reviewed a false news item running on the social media against Senate Standing Committee for Information Technology Chairperson Senator Rubina Khalid of PPP. The meeting offered prayers for the martyrs of September 6.

The FIA director Cyber Crime Wing said a complaint with regard to Senator Rubina Khalid was received on July 16. This news started from the accounts of Dua Bhutto, Khubab Ahmed and Asad Younas Tanoli. As many as nine accounts further shared it. These accounts are not verified. Investigations revealed that this news was shared on July 9 by the facebook account of Khubab Ahmed, and later shared by other facebook users of Dr Anwer Iqbal.

Dr Anwer Iqbal, offering apology, said the news was inadvertently shared. On this, Senator Kulsoom Perveen said an honourable lady was defamed by fake news. Islam does not allow defaming anyone. Anyhow, your apology is accepted. The sub-committee sought details of the fake account of Dua Bhutto.

The FIA director said the Twitter administration does not provide information and the facebook is less responsive since August 5. The sub-committee put on agenda the provision of data access to the FIA Cyber Crime Wing. The committee convener said 80 per cent news items on the social media are false. Different TV channels are also defaming people through ‘breaking news’.