Bangladesh is taking proactive measures to combat online misinformation ahead of the general election scheduled for 12 February. The Chief Adviser’s Special Envoy on International Affairs, Lutfey Siddiqi, engaged with Meta (parent company of Facebook) during the World Economic Forum in Davos to discuss how to address election-related disinformation. The discussions included anticipatory and real-time actions for managing misinformation, with options such as restricting accounts spreading harmful content.
Meta is developing a high-level protocol for coordination with Bangladeshi authorities and is collaborating with the Election Commission on election integrity tools. Workshops are being conducted to enhance institutional capacity in identifying misinformation.
Siddiqi also met with PayPal, which has shown interest in entering the Bangladeshi market, although he cautioned that this process will take time. He emphasized improvements in governance and banking sector reforms that have positively influenced the country’s risk profile for international firms.
