dismislab: 43pc social media disinfo political, largely targets Yunus, Hasina

On different social media platforms, there was a steep surge in disinformation regarding politics and religion during the period between July and September. 

As the political climate was unstable during the time, 43 per cent of disinformation was associated with politics and largely targeted at interim government chief adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus and former prime minister Sheikh Hasina. 

dismisslab, a research initiative by Digitally Right, made the disclosure in a recent report on Thursday. The report was prepared on the basis of data from eight fact-checking websites in the country. 

According to dismislab, fact-checkers identified a total of 917 pieces of disinformation during the July-September period. Some 42.9 per cent of those were linked to politics, and the ratio is threefold higher than the previous April-June quarter, and double of the previous January-March quarter. Religious disinformation constituted 11.5 per cent. 

Miraj Ahmed Chowdhury, managing director of Digitally Right, told Prothom Alo that disinformation or misinformation is linked to political unrest, and it is evident in the latest report. The trend of such disinformation declined following the national election in January but started rising from June. 

Regarding the wayouts, he said disinformation should be countered with authentic information. The mainstream media, which holds public trust, can address the disinformation and serve the people accurate information. It would enhance digital literacy.

The local fact-checkers verified a record 1,345 items between July and September and found 917 of them to be wrong. 

According to dismislab, the spread of disinformation intensified in June and briefly slowed during the internet shutdown amid quota reform priests in July. It regained the pace following the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina government and introduction of interim government, and even peaked in September. 

Political disinformation was largely centered on two groups. Sheikh Hasina and her party Awami Leage were associated with 36 per cent of disinformation, while chief adviser Dr Yunus and leaders of Students Against Discrimination were linked to 35 per cent of disinformation. 

In the previous years, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) was the prime target of disinformation, but its share on the disinformation board shrank to 8 per cent in the July-September quarter. 

On the flip side, disinformation on Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and its student front Chhatra Shibir increased to 11 per cent.

In the report, disinformation was divided into two categories – negative and positive or neutral. Nearly 49 per cent of disinformation about Sheikh Hasina was intended to glorify her, whereas 65 per cent of disinformation surrounding Dr Yunus was negative.

Following the political transition in early August, there was disinformation about attacks on minority communities, often using unrelated or old photos or videos. The trend was pervasive on X (formerly Twitter), while the associated accounts mostly originated from India. 

According to dismislab, false statements on different issues, including Hajj and Umrah expenses, were spread, attributing the religious affairs advisers and student leaders.