KATHMANDU, May 3: President Ram Chandra Paudel has said that democracy is the minimum precondition for free and fair journalism.

Issuing a message today on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, the President said freedom of the press and freedom of expression form the foundation of democracy and recalled the contributions of the Nepali press to the country's major movements for democracy.

Press freedom is equally important for implementing citizens' constitutional right to get information, President Paudel said, adding that a free press helps ensure transparency in the governance system and holds it accountable. 

"This is a vital aspect of the entire society's democratization process," the President's message reads. 

President Paudel has said that the more the press is neutral, free and robust the more the democratic system will be strengthened, and that it is everyone’s responsibility to create an environment conducive to this. Due to this very role of the Nepali press, our constitution has ensured complete press freedom and freedom of expression, President Paudel remarked. 

The President has described that free engagement in all steps from information collection to its dissemination is press freedom in a true sense, adding that pluralism-based journalism ensures the citizens' access to every sort of news.  

In his message, the President has suggested that the media fraternity should work hard to establish the truth by disseminating facts through independent journalism and has cautioned that rumors could misguide the citizens and could create challenges in making the right perception. 

Likewise, the President has pointed out that fake news that could be disseminated through social networking sites could misguide the citizens and weaken the system, and has wished that World Press Freedom Day would inspire Nepal's media fraternity to disseminate true, factual and credible news.

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