Lankan president to follow US presidential style media briefings for direct interaction with journalists

In a bid to stop statements from being allegedly misrepresented or quoted out of context by the media, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has set up a US presidential style media centre that would enable journalists to directly interact with the Sri Lankan leader, his spokesperson said on Tuesday.Rajapaksas comments at times have been at the butt of criticism on social media platforms.We have followed the US presidential media centre style for its background.

In a bid to stop statements from being allegedly ''misrepresented or quoted out of context'' by the media, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has set up a US presidential-style media center that would enable journalists to directly interact with the Sri Lankan leader, his spokesperson said on Tuesday.

Rajapaksa's comments at times have been at the butt of criticism on social media platforms.

''We have followed the US presidential media center style for its background. The designated media representatives would be given the chance to ask direct questions from the president,'' Rajapaksa's spokesperson Kingsley Ratnayake told reporters here.

The media institutions would be asked to name their personnel to attend the briefings at the center handled by the president.

''In the recent past, we have seen that presidential statements had been misrepresented or quoted out of context by the media. This is expected to stop that," Ratnayake said.

Rajapaksa, 72, is the first non-career politician and the first former military officer to be elected to the highest office in the island nation. He assumed office in 2019.

Meanwhile, the government has announced that it is formulating new laws to tackle the menace of fake news on social media platforms.

There will be laws to ban social media accounts, which spread fake news, Information Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said recently.