Media organizations should engage with social media companies like Facebook to address misinformation and cyberbullying, speakers said at a webinar.
The webinar was hosted by the Center for Communication Action Bangladesh (C-CAB) to mark the completion of Facebook Fundamentals for News, a digital training program for Bangladeshi journalists.
Since its start in August 2021, the app-based school has taught over 1,000 local journalists with support from the Meta (Facebook) Journalism Project, BigSpring, and the Colombo-based Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR).
Senior Facebook, BigSpring and CIR executives spoke about the project, while Syed Zain Al-Mahmood, executive director of C-CAB, delivered the welcome address.
Around 50 journalists out of the 1,071 who have successfully completed the course also attended, and several of them spoke about their experiences in the program.
The mobile curriculum, available in both English and Bangla, includes skills on online safety, best practices on Facebook, and how to best leverage video on the platform. The program can be accessed via mobile and web.
Anjali Kapoor, Director of News Partnerships, Meta (Facebook) the Asia Pacific, said: “This program is a good example of Meta’s commitment to supporting quality journalism and providing tools and training to journalists globally.”
Syed Zain Al-Mahmood, Executive Director at Center for Communication Action Bangladesh said: “We are proud to have issued more than 1000 certificates to journalists who have acquired important digital storytelling skills and safety know-how. More than 50% of the course graduates are rural journalists, which shows that we were able to reach journalists across the country.”
Karim Waheed, Digital Editor at the Daily Star, who was one of the first journalists to complete the Facebook Fundamentals for News course, said that journalists working in today’s 24-hour news cycle needed digital skills that allowed them to balance speed with accuracy.
“The Facebook Fundamentals program teaches important storytelling and safety skills that Bangladeshi journalists need,” he said.
The Meta Journalism Project works with publishers around the world to strengthen the connection between journalists and the communities they serve. It also helps address the news industry's core business challenges.
C-CAB has been working on both the supply and demand sides of the news ecosystem in Bangladesh, ranging from building capacity in mobile journalism, conflict-sensitive journalism, and data journalism to training young people in media literacy.
The course completion event was attended by Troy Beckman, director of communications, USAID Bangladesh, Lubain Masum, Political Process Advisor, Office of Democracy Rights and Governance at USAID Bangladesh, Paola Castro Neiderstam, Second Secretary, Human Rights, Democracy, and Gender Equality, Embassy of Sweden, Zafar Sobhan, Editor, Dhaka Tribune, and Jude W Genilo, Professor, Media Studies and Journalism, University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh.
