KATHMANDU: Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Dinesh Kumar Thapaliya said that the task of regulating misinformation, propaganda and malicious expressions through social media in the upcoming elections is complex and the efforts of the Election Commission (EC) alone to counter them would not be sufficient.
Taking part in Election Integrity Summit organized by Facebook’s parent company Meta in Kathmandu on Tuesday, he clarified that the provisions in the election code of conduct for the regulation of misinformation, propaganda and hate speech during the election are based on good practices and studies of various democratic countries.
He added that the EC would leave no stone unturned to promote the overall integrity of the election.
“With the widespread use of social networks, information usage and consumption habits of Nepalis has greatly changed. As a result, anyone could be a victim of misinformation,” said CEC Thapaliya.
“Democracy, elections and misinformation and hate speech cannot go together,” he added
He said that misinformation, disinformation and hate speech are a great challenge to democracy and the enemy of freedom of speech.
He said that the EC had given high priority to the cooperation of the media and civil society organizations.
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