Saudi government spokespersons have become a vital part of the state's plan to counter misleading and false information on the Internet, said Abdul Aziz Khoja, minister of culture and information, recently.

Speaking at a workshop here on the role of these officials, Khoja said that their work is even more important today because of the explosion in the number of sites deliberately spreading lies.

“We are witnessing a huge information revolution. Our smartphones are with us all the time and many traditional concepts in the media have been transformed,” he said.

The minister said that information was likely to be distorted because people are operating with certain agendas and interests.

“For this reason, the Saudi Council of Ministers has made it incumbent on all ministries, government agencies and public organizations to have dedicated spokespersons." Their job is to accurately outline all their organizations' aims and objectives, he said.

The rationale behind this measure is to inform the public and create transparency and trust between government and citizens.

He said citizens are no longer passive recipients of media messages. They have become an integral part of the information gathering and disseminating process. "Now major media corporations consider citizens a source of news and free reporters who can provide them with information they have not been able to obtain themselves,” he said.