ICT minister calls for public to take social media posts with a grain of salt

by Bernard Sinai · Published July 17, 2014 · Updated April 20, 2021

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Papua New Guinea’s (PNG) Information and Communications Technology (ICT) minister, Jimmy Mirintoro, has called on the public to take information from sources that are not credible with a grain of salt.

The minister, in The National, said while there are a number of credible sources, there is also a number of desperate radical activists who seek to cause public distress.

Miringtoro said he hoped the public would be cautious when reading text messages, blog entries, tweets and other forms of media.

Check where the information came from and if it is not from a credible source such as a news organization or known person, treat it with a grain of salt.

He said radical activist bloggers are not published in mainstream news because they lack credibility so they resort to ranting on social media. He added that while some rants are so outrageous they can only be seen as a joke, other, more sinister posts, tend to incite violence.

The minister said he has seen deplorable comments on social media calling for the public to burn government vehicles and attack public servants. He said persons who incite violence through social media can be arrested and triad through the criminal courts.

He also said parties that have been slandered or aggravated by comments that are untrue have every right to seek compensation for damages in the civil courts.

Mirintoro said the public had a democratic right to voice their concerns. However, they should be responsible and act in accordance with the laws of the country.