Disinformation being spread in India about attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh

Disinformation and fake videos are being spread about attacks on the Hindu community in Bangladesh. In some case these fake videos are being spread in the Indian news media too.

For instance, an X account called Daily Latest Updates has posted a video claiming to be able an attack on the Nobogroho temple in Chattogram, with the hash tag #AllEyesOnBangladeshHindus and #BangladeshiHindus.

The video has been shown on the Indian news outlet Republic TV’s official YouTube channel.

The online fact check and media research platform dismislab says, the matter of the Nobogroho temple being set on fire is not true. It says that a Facebook user reported that this video was propaganda. He was contacted and he said there was no attack on Nobograha temple located on the banks of Chattogram’s Laldighi. There had been an attack near the temple on the Chattogram south district Awami League office. The person sent a picture of the unharmed temple. Caretaker of the temple Swapan Das confirmed that it was unharmed.

Meanwhile, Prothom Alo made inquiries and found that the arson did not take place at Nobograha Mandir. Advisor of the temple’s committee Rony Biswas told Prothom Alo, “We are on guard round the clock at the temple. So far nothing has happened.” He confirmed that the fire was at the Awami League office behind the temple.

On 5 August Sheikh Hasina resigned from the post of prime minister and went to India. The next day the parliament was dissolved. On 8 August the interim government headed by Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus was formed.

After the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government, the Awami League offices in various districts including Dhaka, the houses of Awami League leaders and their business establishments were attacked. There also were incidents of attacks on the minority communities in various districts, particularly on the members of the Hindu community. The Indian government has formed a committee to keep watch on the situation in Bangladesh.

The Indian media has been highlighting Bangladesh situation and incidents of assault on the Hindu community. The Indo-centric social media accounts have been expansively spreading reports on Hindus under attack. Many of the videos, pictures and information of these reports are false.

A video of a women being abducted in Senbagh, Noakhali, last Thursday is being passed off as a communal attack. However, Prothom Alo spoke to the woman’s father and learnt that this was not true. It was the woman’s husband who was trying to drag her away. The woman actually refused to stay with her husband the people of the village resisted him.

Dismislab has shown two reports which are fake and carry misinformation. They say they have found six posts with false information. These posts are particularly being spread on X (formerly Twitter), but are also finding place in mainstream media.

X has carried a video of a shop belonging to Hindus being fire being set on fire. The video shows a shop in flames and some people trying to retrieve goods from the fire. The video was posted on 7 August with the caption carrying #AllEyesOnBangladeshiHindus and other hash tags. These hash tags were only introduced after the recent developments in Bangladesh.

According to X, this account is being run in India. Indian media outlet Sudarshan carried the video, passing it off as an attack on Hindus.

Dismislab examined the video and found that this was not a recent incident. The main video was of 15 shops burnt down in a fire in Moju Chowdhuryhar of Lakkhipur in July. The incident took place before Sheikh Hasina’s resignation and was not an incident of communal violence.

The video was spread from an account called Voice of Bangladesh Hindus. Dismislab says the account in the past has similarly spread a lot of disinformation about the minorities being repressed.

An X account run from India claims that the home of Bangladeshi cricketer Liton Das being burnt down. But dismislab found this was not Liton Das’ house at all. It was the house of the former Narail-2 member of parliament Mashrafe Bin Mortuza. Liton Das himself on Facebook clarified the matter.

Another X account run from India posted up pictures claiming Hindu women were being tortured. Dismislab says this picture had appeared in 2023 in a report of the Indian fact checking agency Alt News. The picture had spread on social media back then as an instance of Hindus being repressed. The picture was not of Bangladesh. The original video was of an incident in India’s Bengalaru.

An X account called Baba Banaras posted a video saying that a Bangladeshi Hindu person had been killed and hung from a statue. But dismislab investigated and found the dead body was not of a Hindu, but of Shahidul Islam Hiron, the Jhenaidah Sadar upazila general secretary and Sadar upazila no. 9 Porahati union chairman. Indian media India Today made a report with the video saying this was the body of Shahidul.

Another post in the same account reported that attacks on Hindus have commenced in Bangladesh and that ISKON, Kali Mandir and many other temples had been set on fire and 500 had died. Three pictures were attached, one depicting the clashes of the quota reform movement with police and ruling party persons. Another picture was of 2021. The third picture also was not of recent times. It was of the Sarbajanin Kali Mandir in Panchapalli village being set on fire in Faridpur last April.

In another report, dismislab looked into the matter of fake news being spread in several posts regarding Bangladesh.

The report showed that an incident of Chhatra League men being thrown off a building on 16 July in Chattogram was being passed off as an incident of a Hindu hostel. A picture of a union parishad chairman Selim Khan being beaten to death was passed off as that of a Hindu man.

The incident of two Chhatra League activists being tied up in Badrunnesa Government Women’s College was depicted in a video ostensibly as Hindu girls being tortured. Dismislab said this was disinformation. They said the restaurant of a Jubo League leader being set on fire on 5 August in Satkhira was being passed off as an attack on a temple. In the same area the killing of 14 persons including relations of an Awami League leader was misrepresented as seven Hindus being killed.

In an open letter to the chief advisor of the interim government Dr Muhammad Yunus, Bangladesh Hindu Boudhha Christian Oikya Parishad on Friday said, after the student-people’s uprising, 52 districts saw incidents of communal violence and fear had spread around the minorities all over the country. They called for an immediate end to this situation.

After the fall of the government on 5 August, the police went into hiding. Students are looking after the roads in Dhaka and various other districts. They are also cleaning the city. Of the 639 police stations in the country, till Saturday 538 began operating. The number of police at the stations, however, is low.

In the meantime, initiative has been taken in various areas to guard houses and temples of the Hindu community.

Al Jazeera has also aired a report on the attacks on the Hindu community in Bangladesh and the spreading of misinformation in this regard. It shows Bangladeshi social worker and writer Anupam Debashish Roy say, “There have been attacks on the Hindu community in Bangladesh but the figures have been hugely exaggerated.”

Referring to a study carried out by Syed Al-Zaman, assistant professor of journalism and media studies at Jahangirnagar University, on religion-related fake news in Bangladesh, dismislab has said that over 69 per cent of users believe fake news.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, general secretary of Hindu Bouddha Christian Oikya Parishad said there have been incidents of the Hindu community being attacked in Bangladesh. But fake videos and old pictures are being used for propaganda purposes. He said the Indian media had asked him about a picture of some Hindus being burnt to death. He said he did not know of any such incident. Till now they have news only of a Hindu person being killed in Bagerhat.

Rana Das Gupta said, all information on social media should not be believed, but carefully scrutinized. Fake news must not be spread.