Waves of fake photo cards impersonating news outlets ahead of elections
With the election atmosphere building up, widespread rumours were expected, and that is exactly what is happening. On Facebook, photo cards have become a major tool for spreading false information. To make such content appear credible, these cards are being designed to resemble those of mainstream news outlets, leading some users to believe them.
Recently, a fake card circulated featuring a statement attributed to BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir. The photo card shared on Facebook was designed to mimic the visual style of a private television channel’s official photo cards.
Using a photograph of Mirza Fakhrul, the card carried the text: “After the election, BNP will reduce extortion: Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir.” [Spelling of his name was mistaken in the fake card.]
A logo resembling that of the television channel was placed in the top left corner of the card. The bottom left showed the date 13 January 2026, with the channel’s website address in the centre and the words “details in comments” on the right.
After the card spread, misleading reactions appeared in the comment section. One user wrote, “So you are admitting that you engage in extortion,” while another commented, “This proves BNP carries out extortion.”
The card was traced back to a Facebook group. However, verification shows that the news outlet never published such a photo card or any related report.
The 13th national parliamentary election and a referendum will be held on 12 February. Official election campaigning begins on 22 January, but political campaigns has already been underway on social media, where misinformation is also being spread amid rival campaigns.
Digital rights and information research organisation Digitally Right warned in a recent research paper that false information and hate-driven campaigns could pose a major risk in this election.
From the chief adviser to other government officials, concerns have repeatedly been raised about the spread of rumours and misinformation in the digital space during the election period.
Although images and videos generated using artificial intelligence are also being seen in cases of misinformation, fake photo cards featuring fabricated statements by political leaders are far more common on Facebook. Once uploaded by various pages, these cards are often shared thousands of times, with many people believing them to be genuine news content.
A fake photo card was also circulated in the name of Jamaat-e-Islami secretary general Mia Golam Parwar. Designed in the style of a private television channel, the card attributed to him the statement: “If you are not with Jamaat, you are clearly non-Muslim.” However, no such card was ever published on the television channel’s Facebook page. Verification shows that the logo used in the circulated card does not exactly match the channel’s official logo, and the spelling of the word “November” is incorrect.
Two more misleading photo cards were created targeting Mahmudah Mitu, joint member secretary of the National Citizen Party, and the party’s convener Nahid Islam. One card read: “Nahid Islam with Mahmudah Mitu at Hotel Westin late at night,” while another said: “Mahmudah Mitu denied nomination, Nahid Islam consoles her late at night.”
These two cards were designed using the visual styles of two different news outlets, neither of which published such photo cards or reports.
Fact-checking organisation Rumour Scanner reported that last year, a total of 744 pieces of false information were spread by impersonating the names, logos and headlines of 75 domestic and international media outlets across 687 incidents. On average, media branding was misused to mislead people with more than two fake items daily.
In a report published by DismissLab on misinformation identified throughout last year, it was stated that 21 per cent of rumours were spread through graphic or photo cards. In these cases, fabricated quotes were attributed to political leaders, government advisers or law enforcement officials.
According to the DismissLab report, 74 per cent of fake photo cards were circulated by copying the design of media photo cards.
The primary objective of creating such cards is to make false information appear credible. However, with a little awareness, readers can identify inconsistencies.
In many cases, there is no link to a news report in the comment section of the post. Minor spelling errors in logos, blurry resolution, or subtle alterations to familiar logos can often be noticed. Fonts, text layout and headline language also do not match mainstream news style.
The most effective way to verify such content is to cross-check with the relevant media outlet’s official Facebook page, website or other platforms.
In most cases, no report related to the claim is found on the outlet’s platforms. Reviewing the previous activity of the account or page that shared the card often also reveals signs of misinformation.