Bangladeshi journalist urges media independence from political power amid social media challenges

Journalism must remain “independent of political power” and offer audiences verification, context and accountability as social media increasingly competes with traditional news, Bangladeshi journalist and editor Khairul Alam has told RT.

Alam, editor of DBARTA24 and former General Secretary of the Dhaka Union of Journalists (DUJ), spoke to RT on Wednesday on the sidelines of the International Forum ‘Dialogue about Fakes 4.0’ in Moscow.

“Rebuilding public trust begins with one simple principle: journalism must be independent of political power,” he said.

According to Alam, media outlets can restore confidence through transparent sourcing, fact-checking, openly correcting mistakes and giving different sides an opportunity to respond. They must also protect reporters from political retaliation and separate journalism from “political activism,” he added.

Alam pointed to Bangladesh’s 2024 political unrest as an example of how social media can both provide information quickly and amplify false or misleading claims.

“The same platforms can spread misinformation, manipulated videos, old footage presented as new, misleading headlines and politically motivated narratives at extraordinary speed,” he said.

The problem becomes more acute when confidence in traditional media declines, Alam argued, pointing to political pressure and legal cases against journalists in Bangladesh.

The 2024 protests began over civil service job quotas before developing into a broader anti-government uprising that led to the ouster of then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The UN has estimated that as many as 1,400 people were killed during the unrest. Hasina has since alleged that the US orchestrated her removal after Dhaka refused to allow an American military base on Saint Martin Island.

UN experts raised concerns in 2025 that more than 140 journalists had been charged with murder following the protests. The Committee to Protect Journalists has also documented arrests, criminal cases and other pressure against media workers in the country.

Alam argued that journalists should not face pressure or punishment over their perceived political affiliations, regardless of who is in power.

“Journalism should not become a reward for supporting whoever is currently in power, nor should it become a punishment for having worked under a previous government,” he said.

At the same time, Alam stressed that social media itself is “not the enemy of journalism” and can serve as an important tool for reporters.

Professional media, he said, must instead distinguish itself by providing what social platforms often cannot: “verification, context, responsibility and independence.”