MFP cites agency’s ‘ bad performance ‘
PUBLISHED: 22 Mar 2024 at 04: 00
The Anti-Fake News Center ( AFNC ) was attacked by the Move Forward Party ( MPP ) for its subpar performance yesterday, and they demanded that the organization’s funding be cut.
MFP list- MP Pakornwut Udompipatskul addressed the House on the second day of the second and third readings of the budget bill for the 2024 fiscal year. He claimed that the AFNC, which is under the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society ( DES ), has not only failed in its effort to stop fake news but is also used as a government tool to conceal the truth.
The MP suggested cutting the AFNC’s full expenditure, which is 69.57 million baht, down.
Prior to this, the particular House committee vetting the budget bill proposed cutting the DES Ministry’s resources by 72 million to 5.347 billion baht.
He cited the facility’s performance in September of last year when the new DES secretary took over the position and claimed that simply 539 messages were flagged for fact-checking. 5.47 million complaints about false news were received. Of the 539 products, just 235 were verified and deemed able to be disseminated.
The AFNC appeared to be doing nothing more than passing alleged fake news objects to appropriate agencies for fact-checking, according to the MP. The center did n’t do anything if suspicious content could n’t be verified or organizations did n’t want them to be made public.
He cited an example of a cabinet decision to approve a plan to manage public debt, which may create a new 194 billion bass debt.
The Public Relations Department received the product after the AFNC verified its authenticity. However, the office did not wish to have the reports piece published because it was bad towards the government, he said.
The Anti-Fake News Centre does not request agencies to verify information, but rather requests authority for articles to get published. The middle just does what it’s told.
” Since its creation, the center has always maintained impartiality nor independence. It is used by the government to inform the public about what the government wants it to know and to censor information that the government does n’t want it to know. This kind of project does n’t deserve a single baht of the state budget, “he said.
The specific House committee’s recommendation to reduce the budget for the DES to 72 million baht was finally accepted by the House after a heated discussion.