23 January 2024 10:25 pm Views - 1341
By Ajith Siriwardana and Yohan Perera
He said the mainstream media reports filtered news based on the needs of the media owners and that social media was circulating true and unfiltered news to the people.
Commenting on the Online Safety Bill, he told Parliament that the government was plotting to restrict circulation of true news in social media as it had been a headache for them.
"Social media are circulating true and unfiltered news. Social media are carrying true news on politicians. People were able to know former President Mahinda Rajapaksa's recent tour on a dredger because of social media. People also got to know the true incident of the shooting in Narammala where a driver was killed in a police shooting. If not for social media, the police would have altered the whole incident," he said.