Pres. Ali defends hiring lawyer to target online critics

(Kaieteur News) – President Irfaan Ali on Friday mounted a defense of his administration’s decision to retain Canada-based Guyanese attorney Selwyn Pieters to interface with Meta, the parent company of Facebook, regarding the removal of online content deemed objectionable, libellous, or slanderous.

Addressing reporters at his press conference, the Head of State brushed aside concerns over the engagement of the legal counsel, arguing that the government has a responsibility to protect itself and public officials against coordinated character assassination, disinformation, and lies peddled on social media.

When asked how he justifies hiring Pieters to engage Facebook for the removal of content found to be objectionable or defamatory, President Ali maintained that the move was both legitimate and necessary. “I don’t see any difficulty in hiring a lawyer who I believe is competent, just like our AG is exceedingly competent, maybe one of the finest. But I believe that this guy has [a] specific skill set that is necessary to combat the misinformation, the disinformation, the lies that people are peddling on social media,” the President stated.