Wednesday, May 30, 2012 -
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev slammed the “lies” of social media websites at a gathering of religious leaders in Astana Wednesday and proposed the creation of an internet resource to promote tolerance.
In an address to the Fourth Congress of the World’s Traditional Religions in the Kazakh capital Nazarbayev said online social networks are “spreading lies and propagating violence and evil,” Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) reported.
“Instead of distributing real knowledge, social networks often pour floods of lies, split societies, and create walls within countries,” he told attendees at the event.
The Kazakh leader told the congress of religious leaders that IT and new communication services are developed to unite people, but instead create new barriers between communities and countries.
He suggested the creation of a new internet portal where religious leaders would regularly hold interactive meetings, the RT.com news agency cited Russia’s RIA Novosti as reporting.
Nazarbayev said the project would be devoted to forming and strengthening global tolerance and trust. It would also encourage people to participate in the activities of traditional religions.
He also proposed organizing a related “permanent online forum” for web surfers, according to the Russian media outlet.
Last month, Nazarbayev blamed the outbreak of the Arab Spring revolutions on online social networks.