Chairman of Press Council Nepal Balkrishna Basnet has warned against misusing the press card to mislead society. He warned that any journalist found to have misused it would be severely punished. Speaking at an orientation program held at the council on Wednesday, he said that press ID cards will allow people to do creative work without burdening society.

While informing about the investigation into the misuse of press passes, Chairman Basnet said, ‘Media press passes are given to journalists to dedicate themselves to the interests of journalism.’ He said that media literacy is necessary for everyone as information and media news on social media have created confusion and problems among common people. Media literacy is essential not only for journalists but also for the society due to information technology. Chairman Basnet said that now anyone can give general information from anywhere, and journalists should be able to communicate construction issues, positive change issues, and creative issues. The council has been making necessary regulations to make the YouTube medium manageable. YouTube has also been classified and punished.

He said that the government’s attention should be directed towards increasing the state’s investment for media literacy. The council has been taking action such as taking away the card, making them participate in code of conduct classes, putting them on the blacklist, and stopping advertisements, etc. In cyber and other criminal charges, the council has been taking action in cooperation with the investigating agency.