Fact-checking organisations have identified nearly 200 pieces of false information originating from Bangladesh and circulating on Facebook over the past week.
In the run-up to the national election, political parties and leaders have been the primary targets of disinformation. Among individual figures, the highest number of false claims, 29 in total, concerned Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chairman Tarique Rahman.
An analysis of data from Rumour Scanner, Fact Watch, Dismislab, Bangla Fact and The Dissent shows that 190 items of false information were circulated over the past seven days. Of these, 93 were election-related.
Among them, 29 targeted Tarique Rahman. BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and standing committee member Mirza Abbas were also victims of disinformation.
After the BNP chairman, the second most-targeted individual was Awami League president Sheikh Hasina, whose party’s activities have been banned and who was ousted from power following a mass uprising.
False information was also circulated about Jamaat-e-Islami ameer Shafiqur Rahman and interim government chief adviser professor Muhammad Yunus.
Distorted statements and AI-generated content
The analysis shows that Tarique Rahman’s statements were distorted and false quotations were widely circulated. One such example involved a photo card, modelled on the design of a news outlet’s photo card, falsely attributing comments to Tarique Rahman regarding the marriage of his daughter, Zaima Rahman.
Fact-checking confirmed that the media outlet in question had never published such a photo card.
In another instance, a video was circulated claiming that Tarique Rahman was delivering a speech while wearing old and torn shoes. Verification revealed that his Nike-brand shoes were not torn; the design of the outer sole simply gave that impression.
An image was also circulated claiming that former Narayanganj City Corporation mayor Selina Hayat Ivy had been released from prison with the assistance of Tarique Rahman and had subsequently joined the BNP. Fact-checkers confirmed that the image was generated using artificial intelligence (AI).
Additionally, a video purporting to show police officials questioning why Tarique Rahman was being allowed to contest the election despite allegedly holding dual citizenship was found to be AI-generated.
A deepfake video was also circulated claiming that Tarique Rahman had opened a new Facebook page and was urging people to follow it. Verification showed that the video was created using AI by manipulating an older video of him and inserting altered visuals.
Others targeted by disinformation
Fact-checkers identified nine false claims about Sheikh Hasina over the past week. In some cases, old photos or videos were circulated with new, misleading claims; in others, false statements were attributed to her using fake photo cards bearing the names of media outlets.
Seven pieces of false information were identified concerning Jamaat-e-Islami ameer Shafiqur Rahman. Among them was a fake photo card circulated in the name of a news outlet claiming that “female student organisation activists are sufficient to deal with Tarique Rahman if he comes to create trouble”.
Six false claims were identified about BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir. These largely involved misleading interpretations based on selectively edited portions of his statements.
One such claim falsely attributed to him the remark, “I still consider Awami League to be the biggest party”, whereas he had actually said that Awami League had long been portrayed as the largest party before its activities were banned.
Five false claims were identified concerning BNP standing committee member Mirza Abbas. One fake photo card circulated in the name of a media outlet claimed that he had directly threatened to kill Nasiruddin Patwary.
Nasiruddin Patwary, a leader of the National Citizen Party (NCP), has been contesting against Mirza Abbas in the Dhaka–8 constituency and has been making allegations against the BNP candidate since the beginning of the campaign.
However, the NCP leader himself was not immune to such disinformation. Four pieces of false information were identified concerning Nasiruddin Patwary. Posts on Facebook claimed, along with images, that four sacks of money had been recovered from his residence and that he had been arrested by RAB (Rapid Action Battalion). Verification showed that the handcuffed image was of another individual, with Patwary’s face digitally superimposed.
Four false claims were also identified concerning interim government chief adviser professor Muhammad Yunus. One fake photo card circulated in the name of a media outlet claimed that he had called for voting ‘No’ in the referendum.
Four false claims targeted NCP leader and Cumilla–4 candidate Hasnat Abdullah. One video circulated claiming that he had joined the BNP at the behest of Zaima Rahman. Fact-checking confirmed that the video was AI-generated.
Fact-checkers identified three false claims concerning Tasnim Zara, an independent candidate in the Dhaka–9 constituency. A photo card circulated with the headline claiming that she had instructed voters not to vote for Jamaat. Verification revealed that the content originated from a satire page.
Half of all false information election-related
The 13th national parliamentary election and a referendum are scheduled to be held on 12 February. Ahead of the elections, concerns over disinformation on social media have been widespread. Fact-checking findings confirm that a large volume of false information is being circulated in connection with the election.
Of the 190 false claims identified last week, Rumour Scanner detected 126, Fact Watch 23, Dismislab 15, Bangla Fact 15, and The Dissent 11. A total of 93 items were election-related.
Most election-related disinformation involved confusion over the polling date, claims of election cancellation or postponement, predictions of victory for specific parties, or the alleged positions of state institutions.
One video falsely claimed that interim government head Muhammad Yunus had announced the cancellation of the 12 February election in a national address. Verification showed that the video was created by editing an older speech.
Another false claim asserted that a United Nations survey had predicted the BNP would win between 240 and 250 seats. In reality, the UN conducted no such survey and does not carry out electoral forecasting.
False information was also circulated quoting US ambassador to Bangladesh Brent Christensen as saying that the United States had “no interest in a one-sided election without Awami League”.
Additionally, an AI-generated video attributed to a member of the Bangladesh Army was circulated with the slogan: “There is only one slogan—we will not go to polling centres, we will not vote.”
Fake media photo cards and manipulated content
Fake photo cards bearing the names of news outlets were the most frequently used format in election-related misinformation. Fact-checkers identified 57 such fake photo cards in the past week. At least 28 false claims involved fabricated comments, selectively edited statements, or manipulated or fake press releases.
A statement attributed to Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal leader Abidul Islam Khan—“Anyone who has a family card will need nothing else in life”—was found to be entirely fabricated.
A fake press release claiming the expulsion of a BNP candidate in the Cumilla–7 constituency was also circulated. Verification revealed that it had been digitally altered from a genuine but unrelated party press release.
In 25 cases, incidents from other countries or different contexts, as well as old photos and videos, were presented as current events. For example, a video showing a woman being assaulted was circulated with the claim that a BNP leader was beating a woman with sticks after accusing her of theft for refusing a marriage proposal. Fact-checking revealed that the video was from West Bengal, India.
In eight cases, edited images or staged videos were falsely presented as authentic. In one video, a crowd was heard chanting “Mirza Abbas, extortionist”, but verification showed that the chant’s audio had been digitally added.
Over the past week, fact-checkers identified at least 22 AI-generated images and videos, as well as two deepfake videos. One example involved an image from a press conference held by Nasiruddin Patwary after he was attacked during a visit to Habibullah Bahar College. In the manipulated image, all individuals were shown with bandages on their heads, whereas the original image showed only two people with head bandages.
Fact-checking over the past week shows that 36 pieces of false information targeted the BNP and 36 targeted Jamaat-e-Islami. Nine false claims concerned the Awami League, while several others targeted Islami Andolan Bangladesh.