Garment workers' protests: 47 cases of disinformation, including claims of killings and shootings, identified

A video showing two children crying after losing their mother has been circulating on Facebook. The caption claims that “BNP terrorists, along with police, attacked and killed a female garment worker and made her body disappear. Her family members, including a small child, are seen crying helplessly.”

However, a fact-check found that the video does not show relatives mourning a female worker killed during the ongoing labour protests. It shows an incident involving Sumi Akter (27) a garment worker who suddenly fell ill while working at the Agami Fashion Ltd factory of Deco Group in Savar’s Noapara, Ashulia, on 16 October. She was taken to the Women and Children Hospital in Ashulia, where the attending physician declared her dead.

Garment workers have been staging protests in several industrial areas, including Mirpur, Savar-Ashulia, Gazipur and Narayanganj, demanding a minimum monthly wage of Tk 30,000. Clashes and chases between workers and police have also taken place in several areas during the demonstrations. Amid this situation, various forms of misinformation have been spreading on social media.

Some posts claim that several workers were killed by police gunfire, while others describe injured people as having been shot. AI-generated images and videos, edited news cards, fake statements and old photos and videos from unrelated incidents are also being circulated as part of the ongoing protests.

Fact-checking organisations have been publishing reports on misinformation surrounding the garment workers’ demonstrations. As of 12pm on Friday, three fact-checking organisations had identified and reported 47 such incidents. Rumor Scanner reported 33, Dismislab eight and BanglaFact six.

Several claims that workers had been killed have circulated on social media amid the garment workers’ protests. From 4 November, Facebook posts claimed that five workers had been shot dead in Hemayetpur. A day earlier, posts claimed that eight workers had been killed and more than 100 injured in Ashulia in police firing. Other posts alleged that two or four workers had been killed in Gazipur and Mirpur.

Verification shows no evidence to support the claims that five workers had been shot dead in Hemayetpur or eight in Ashulia. The claims of workers being killed in Gazipur and Mirpur were also false.

An analysis of the viral posts found no reliable information or evidence to support these claims. There were no reports from the police or news media confirming that several workers had been killed by police gunfire in Gazipur, Savar, Ashulia or Mirpur. Police press releases and media reports also contained no information supporting the claims.

However, not all reports of casualties during the protests were false. Garment worker Toufiq Hossain, who was injured in Gazipur, died while undergoing treatment on 3 November. No information was found about anyone being killed in the clashes in Hemayetpur.

There have also been instances of injured people being falsely described as victims of gunfire during the protests. A photograph circulated with the claim that a worker named Tanjina Akter Shormi had been shot the previous day and died at Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

However, verification found that the woman in the photograph was not Tanjina Akter Shormi but Jannat. She had not been shot either. She had fallen ill after being exposed to tear gas shells fired by police in Fatullah. Video footage obtained during the fact-check showed her getting back on her feet later.

Another claim, circulated on Facebook and several other platforms, said that a class-V student of BKSP School was in critical condition after being shot by police while returning home during the garment workers’ protests.

The claim was shared not only by accounts supportive of the Awami League but also by Facebook groups supportive of Jamaat-e-Islami and the National Citizen Party. However, speaking to the student’s father, Yusuf Rana, fact-checkers learned that a piece of brick had struck his son on the head from behind as he was leaving school after classes. The student was injured, but there was no incident of him being shot.

A video has circulated with the claim that all factories of Pacific Jeans Ltd, a jeans manufacturer, have been shut down. The video shows workers inside a factory hugging one another and crying.

However, verification found that the claim was false. Production has been stopped at an old building of Unit 1 of Pacific Jeans Ltd. The company has taken a policy decision to demolish the building. Production continues at its other units and at the other factories of Pacific Jeans Group.

AI-generated images and videos have also been circulated amid the workers’ protests. A video was shared with the claim that a garment factory in Mirpur had been attacked and vandalised. Another was circulated with the claim that “police are firing on garment workers' processions under Tarique Rahman's orders”.

A third video shows a police officer holding a gun and firing towards a crowd. It was also claimed to show police shooting at workers.

However, verification found that none of the three videos was authentic. All had been created using AI.

A photograph was also circulated with the claim that BNP leaders and activists had taken to the streets with firearms alongside police to suppress the protests. It shows several people standing with weapons in their hands, with police officers behind them.

Verification found that the photograph was not real. An image of BNP leaders and activists standing with sticks in Mirpur had been edited using AI. Firearms were added to their hands and images of police officers were placed in the background.

Edited news cards bearing the logos of media outlets have also been circulated amid the garment workers’ protests. A news card carrying the logo of a television channel was shared with the claim that Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed had said, “If the workers do not stop protesting, they will meet the same fate as the Awami League.”

Another news card was circulated on Facebook with the claim that garment workers had announced a “Long March to Dhaka” programme.

Verification found no evidence that the home minister had made the quoted remark. The card had been created by digitally editing a different news card from the television channel.

Similarly, there was no information that protesting workers had announced a “Long March to Dhaka”. A different news card had been digitally edited and circulated to support the claim.

A Facebook page also posted a claim on 5 November that 20 people had been killed, more than 2,000 injured and over 500 arrested in five days of garment workers’ protests. Verification found that the claims of 20 deaths and more than 2,000 injuries were false. The figure of more than 500 arrests was also exaggerated.

Fake quotes attributed to prominent political and government figures have also been circulated in connection with the protests. A news card carrying a photograph of Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, political adviser to the prime minister on industries and acting secretary general of the BNP, was shared with the claim that he had said, “Each one of them are garment workers but are demanding an officer’s salary.”

Another news card attributed a statement to Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed, claiming he had said, “There are no genuine workers in this movement, they are mainly trying to destabilise the country for political purposes.” The card also claimed that he had urged party leaders and activists to take action against the protesters.

Verification found that neither quote was true. No reliable evidence was found that either of the two people holding important government positions had made such remarks. In fact, the quotes originated from posts created by a satirical Facebook page called “Gupto TV” and were circulated as genuine comments.

Videos of various incidents unrelated to the ongoing labour protests have been circulated with new claims. A video was shared with the claim that a female garment worker had been tied to a tree to prevent her from joining the protests. Some posts claimed that a JCD leader in Kaliakair upazila had tied her up.

However, verification found that the video was nearly three months old. It shows the daughter-in-law of an elderly woman being tied up in Mymensingh in August 2026 over allegations that she had murdered the elderly woman.

Another video was circulated under the headline, “Police enter a mosque wearing shoes while prayers are underway to search for garment workers.” Verification found that the footage had no connection with the ongoing garment workers’ protests. It shows police entering a mosque during an eviction drive against hawkers in Mirpur-10 in Dhaka on 30 September.

A photograph was circulated on Facebook amid the workers’ protests with the claim that a BNP leader had attacked the demonstrations in Gazipur with a heavy firearm.

Verification found that the photograph was not related to any attack on garment workers. It shows a man carrying a firearm and chasing members of the opposing group during a clash between two factions of the BNP in Sitakunda, Chattogram, on 2 September this year, ahead of the party’s founding anniversary.

A video was also circulated under the headline, “The prime minister himself takes to the streets during the garment workers’ movement.”

However, verification found that the video had no connection with the recent garment workers’ protests. On 22 October, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman visited Mongla and stepped out of his vehicle, breaking protocol, to mingle with ordinary people. The video is from that visit.

A video was circulated with the claim that it showed an injured worker speaking during the ongoing garment workers’ protests. In the footage, a man appears to fall ill after being exposed to a tear gas shell. He is heard saying, “Even if I die, you must not back down.”

However, the video is neither from the garment workers’ protests nor recent. It is an old video of a man who fell ill after being hit by a tear gas shell during the July uprising in 2024, now being circulated with a new claim.

A video was circulated with the claim that people were being paid to join the garment workers’ protests. Verification found that it had no connection with the demonstrations. It shows a scene from the Inqilab Moncho’s “March for Justice” programme.

A photograph was also circulated with the claim that it showed a worker killed by police gunfire in Savar on 4 November. However, verification found that the image was of a young man named Ahad Ahmed, who was killed in an attack by his cousins over a land dispute in Rampal, Bagerhat, on 21 September.

Another photograph was shared with the claim that BNP-Jamaat terrorists had hacked a garment worker to death on suspicion that he was a Jubo League supporter. Verification found that the image was not from the recent workers’ protests. It shows the killing of Jubo League leader Zubayer Parvez in Feni last June.

On 4 November, a photograph of a dead man was circulated on Facebook with the claim that “a worker was killed by police gunfire in Savar just a while ago”. Former State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Mohammad Ali Arafat also shared the claim on his Facebook profile.

However, verification found that the photograph did not show a worker killed by police in Savar on 4 November. It was a photograph of a young man named Ahad Ahmed, who was killed in an attack by his cousins over a land dispute in Rampal, Bagerhat, on 21 September.

Another photograph was circulated with the claim that BNP-Jamaat terrorists had hacked a garment worker to death on suspicion that he was a Jubo League supporter. However, verification found that the photograph was unrelated to the recent workers’ protests. It showed the killing of Jubo League leader Zubayer Parvez in Feni last June.

Following garment workers’ protests demanding a minimum monthly wage of Tk 30,000, the Minimum Wage Board was formed on 1 November. Subsequently, a new wage list was circulated on Facebook under the title “Gazette for garment workers”, bearing the name of the Ministry of Labour and Employment. The posts claimed that it was the new wage structure for garment workers.

However, verification found that the list was not the new wage structure. Although the board has been formed to set a new minimum wage, discussions have taken place about determining the new wages for garment workers in December.

A meeting of the Minimum Wage Board was held at its office in Segunbagicha, Dhaka, on 4 November. The meeting was chaired by the board’s new chairman, Syed Azad Subhani. After the meeting, he told journalists that the workers’ and employers’ representatives would submit separate wage proposals at the board’s second meeting. The independent member would also submit a proposal. The board would then discuss the proposals.

No news reports or other information about the publication of a new wage structure for garment workers were found in the media. No related post was found on the Facebook page of the Ministry of Labour and Employment either.

A claim circulated on Facebook linking the garment workers’ protests to the arrest of Ha-Meem Group chairman and former MP AK Azad. One post said his arrest had caused a stir in the country’s industrial and business sectors. It also raised questions about the reasons for his arrest, details of the case and the next legal steps.

However, verification found that the claim of Ha-Meem Group chairman AK Azad’s arrest was false. The claim was circulated without any reliable information or evidence.