From the day the schedule for the 13th parliamentary election was announced until one week after voting, 45 per cent of the disinformation spread on social media was related to the election.
In numerical terms, that amounts to 528 cases. In the early phase, disinformation questioned whether the election would be held at all. Toward the end, claims of vote rigging were circulated.
These findings were published in a report by fact-checking organisation Dismislab. The report analysed 72 days of data compiled by nine fact-checking agencies operating in Bangladesh and was released last Saturday.
Analysts say disinformation spread extensively during the election period, as had been feared. However, the Election Commission appeared to have taken limited measures to counter it. The commission’s response on the matter was not immediately available.
Professor BM Mainul Hossain, director of the Institute of Information Technology at University of Dhaka, told Prothom Alo that it may not be possible for the Election Commission to take every step needed to combat disinformation. “But even the minimum initiatives that were necessary were not visible,” he said. “The commission failed to send a message that it is capable of taking action when disinformation is spread.”
He added that disinformation would also pose a major challenge in the upcoming local government elections. Since disinformation in local polls is likely to spread on an area-specific basis, countermeasures should be centred at the upazila and police station levels. The Election Commission must send a strong message in advance that strict action will be taken, he said.
95 cases in 48 hours
According to the Dismislab report, from 11 December — the day the election schedule was announced — until 20 February, one week after the results were declared, a total of 1,185 pieces of political disinformation circulating on social media were verified.
The disinformation was identified by Rumor Scanner, BoomBD, NewsChecker, Fact Crescendo, Fact Watch, Agence France-Presse (AFP) Bangladesh, Ajker Patrika, Dismislab and The Descent. Of these, Dismislab separately analysed 528 election-related cases.
The analysis shows that 41 per cent of the 528 election-related disinformation cases were spread during the 19 days of official campaigning. In the 48-hour period between the end of campaigning and polling day, 95 cases were detected. On 11 February alone, more than 70 political and election-specific claims were fact-checked — the highest number recorded in a single day during the election period.
During the 19 days of campaigning, an average of 11 to 12 cases were identified daily. At the nomination scrutiny stage, the average was slightly below five per day. On polling day, 26 cases were recorded within 24 hours. Although the rate declined somewhat in the week following the election, five to six claims were still verified daily.
Over the 72 days before and after the election, more than two pieces of disinformation created using artificial intelligence (AI) were identified on average each day. Nearly 12 per cent of the election-related disinformation was AI-generated, and seven out of every 10 such cases were video-based.
Types of disinformation over time
Dismislab categorised the disinformation according to the election timeline. Before the formal election process began, most disinformation carried political messaging.
After nomination submissions began, the focus shifted to individual-centric claims — including rumours about who would contest the election, whose nomination had been cancelled and whether the election would take place at all.
Once official campaigning started, the intensity of disinformation increased. Exaggerated or fabricated promises were attributed to candidates. AI-generated images inflated attendance at rallies. Old videos of protests or violence were recirculated and presented as current incidents.
Miraj Ahmed Chowdhury, managing director of Digitally Right, told Prothom Alo, “We feared that disinformation would spread more widely in this election. That is exactly what happened.” However, he described the experience as a learning opportunity and emphasised the need to begin preparations now for future elections.