By: Kayhan Int’l Staff Writer

 

Science and technology, which have undoubtedly opened new vistas of material development for the modern man bringing in amenities never imagined before, have rarely been used to promote humanitarian and spiritually values.

As a matter of fact, evil minds have misused the splitting of the atom to build weapons of mass destruction, while manipulating the rapidly advancing world of cyberspace and information and communication to spread not just vices but also a network of false narratives to disturb through the social media the peace and order of communities and countries, incite acts of violence, embolden thugs to loot public and private properties, instigate terrorists to kill people, induce traitors to betray their own homeland, tempt the agnostic to indulge in sacrilege, and seduce morally loose women to offend time-honoured public morals.

President Hojjat al-Islam Seyyed Ibrahim Raisi referred to these deplorable plots in his address Tuesday to the 18th General Assembly of the Organization of Asia-Pacific News Agencies (OANA), saying: Today’s war is the war of narratives, that is, several different narratives are presented about one incident and one must look for the facts to determine which one is correct.”

He highlighted the need for formation of a media coalition in the region and the world to protect countries against the influence of the decadent culture of the West, saying: Media outlets play a very important role in fending off the ruthless attack on the independence, freedom, culture and identity of independent nations. 

The OANA presidency which was assumed yesterday for the next three years by the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) saw some 60 senior directors, editors, and managers, from 35 member-states attend the 18th General Assembly in Tehran. 

The participants were impressed by their visit to Tehran and admitting how some of them had been deceived by the false narratives of the West regarding Iran over the past month, called for respect for national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

They stressed that professional media should respect the right of the audience to obtain accurate and correct information without allowing negative factors to affect reporting the facts and ground realities – which the western news outlets attempt to distort.

The Islamic Republic of Iran, which for the past 43 years has been the victim of US-sponsored terrorism, including war, assassinations, sanctions, politicization of the peaceful nuclear project, and an incessant barrage of media lies to tarnish its image, recently witnessed scattered incidents of riots in some localities of Tehran and a few other cities by a handful of anti-social elements feeding on fake news disseminated by TV channels based in the West, and the disinformation campaign through the smartphone instant messenger Whatsaap and the Instagram photo video sharing network.