PARLIAMENT

Hon. (Dr.) Najith Indika,—To ask the Minister of Health and Mass Media,— (1)

(a) Will he inform this House—

(i) whether he is aware that propaganda of a nature which defame the government has been published on social media regarding the commemoration of the dead persons of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka;

(ii) of the legal provisions currently in force against the making of organized racist, religious and hateful statements on social media;

(iii) of the Acts most frequently used in the past out of those referred to above;

(iv) whether a course of action has been developed to prevent the defame caused to the government by the failure to promptly give the correct factual explanation of the government after misinformation has been disseminated by the media;

(v) of the measures that will be taken to rectify this situation and to avoid any recurrences of such in the future?

(b) If not, why?