The Press Institute of Bangladesh (PIB) has stated that confusion has arisen over information involving various media outlets—including Prothom Alo—in a study on news retractions, and that not all retracted reports should necessarily be categorised as misinformation.
In a statement, issued on Sunday, the PIB stated that some media outlets published incomplete and unclear reports about the study, contributing to the confusion.
At a seminar held on Saturday at the PIB auditorium, titled “Recent Nature and Trends of Misinformation in Bangladesh’s Media”, Mamun-or-Rashid, a consultant of an ICT Division project and the lead researcher conducting the study on behalf of the PIB, presented preliminary findings.
According to a portion of his presentation, Prothom Alo retracted the highest number of false reports in a six-month period—a total of 121—followed by bdnews24.com, Jugantor, and Samakal. However, the accompanying slide contradicted the spoken summary, listing Kalbela in second place, Ittefaq third, and Jugantor fourth.
Following the seminar, several media outlets published news reports based on this data, which soon gained traction on social media. Some fact-checkers raised concerns on Facebook about the methodology of the study. Amid the growing confusion, the PIB issued its clarification on Sunday evening.
Prothom Alo contacted the researcher on Saturday to verify the authenticity of the data concerning its retracted news. In a written response sent Sunday night, the researcher acknowledged that misleading media reports had been published regarding the seminar. He strongly criticised such reporting and called for more professional journalism. He added, “In my personal view, Prothom Alo maintains the highest standard of curation in news preparation and presentation. I hope this clarification will help dispel any misconceptions.”
In its extended clarification, the PIB reiterated that the seminar included a presentation by the main researcher and contributions from journalists representing various media outlets. However, some subsequent reports were “incomplete and unclear.”
The clarification further noted that one portion of the presentation focused on a comparative analysis of retracted content and data related to misinformation on online platforms. Yet, some media outlets reported on it in a way that created confusion and even used misleading headlines targeting specific organisations.
According to the PIB, the figures shown in the slide were based on the number of “404 Page Not Found” links observed on news websites—an indicator that a particular article had been removed. While some of these removals may have involved the deletion of false information, not all did.
The figures merely represent a statistical sample of retracted content. Although this distinction was made verbally during the presentation, it was not reflected in the slide text, leaving room for misinterpretation.
It is important to note that a “404 error” means the page is no longer available at a given URL—a so-called “dead link.” Technology experts told Prothom Alo that such dead links can arise not only from the deletion of false news but also from technical or procedural changes such as website redesigns, adjustments to archival policy, or broken URLs. Therefore, a 404 error does not automatically imply that the original content was false or retracted due to misinformation.
Prothom Alo requested the researcher to provide a list of the dead links on Saturday, which he shared on Sunday night. Initial verification of several links revealed that some content had been published multiple times and later removed to avoid duplication—not due to misinformation. In certain cases, articles with the same headlines are still available on the website, further debunking the assumption of misinformation.
Prothom Alo’s Head of Online, Shawkat Hossain, said, “When any report is found to be false after publication, Prothom Alo retracts it with a clear statement. We have well-defined editorial policies on retractions, corrections, and the use of artificial intelligence in both print and online versions. These guidelines are strictly enforced and will be followed even more rigorously going forward.”