From spreading rumors that the USA will force the government to resign by November 3, to Awami League leaders fleeing the country en masse to avoid reprisal as the ruling party nearing absolute collapse, pro-Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) online spaces are furiously peddling conspiracy and targeting the BNP’s rivals with disinformation.
Within pro-BNP social media groups, social media users have weaponized disinformation to create panic among the Awami League leaders and activists and to energize BNP’s moral boost ahead of the forthcoming crucial election.
You can also read: International Media Spotlight Grows on BNP-Jamaat’s Escalating Violence
After an apparent defeat in their political muscle flex showdown in the streets in the much-hyped December, September, and October movements, the BNP now opting for foreign lobbying using an array of misinformation and propaganda.
Lobbyists and agents of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) have intensified their activities in Washington, London, and other Western capitals with the agenda of putting the ruling Awami League government under tremendous pressure.
Using photos and videos, false statements, modified misinformation, and famous memes, the propagandist groups work seamlessly to alter country’s positive stories.
Broadly, much of the propaganda running in social media can fall under four different themes – criticizing and mocking AL leader with false information, to fake claims and news on government fall and international pressure, to warning AL activists about upcoming reprisal and pitching Tarique Rahman, who is convicted in multiple cases, as the only hope to save Bangladesh from ruining.
Fake News Floods Cyberspace to Create Confusion
Fake news, disinformation, misleading information, smear campaigns, and political propaganda on social media had been flooded before and after BNP’s key rally October 28. Verified Facebook pages were spotted spreading false information or fake press releases, while boosted social media profiles were seen sharing news cards of different newspapers.
Two days before the October 28 rally, Mahmudul Khan Apel, an expatriate pro-BNP campaigner, shared two fake news-cards of Daily Prothom and Kalbela and wrote that the AL postponed its peace and development rally in Dhaka on Saturday citing a ‘quote’ of Obaidul Quader, the AL general secretary and road transport and bridges minister.
Facebook later identified it as false information and stated, ‘Independent fact-checkers say that this information has no basis.’
Following the spread of the fake news-card, AL office secretary Biplob Barua dismissed the news and said that they were preparing for their rally.
Pro-BNP propagandists spread numerous photos, and videos on their social media handles, mainly Facebook and YouTube, claiming Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and dissolved the parliament. The propaganda posts spread quickly and were seen by hundreds of thousands of netizens.
Press Xpress spotted a huge number of false claims that show BNP announced war and emergency situation declared in the country, the Army deployed in the country and Army declared caretaker government, BNP-Jamaat men occupied the capital and seized the secretariate building. However, these claims are all fake but consumed by thousands of people.
Another series of propaganda was seen on social media claiming that the US imposed VISA restrictions on heads of armed forces including the Air Force, Bangladesh Army, and Bangladesh Navy. However, the US State Department said that they will not publicly announce the names of VISA-restricted personnel as per their policy. So, even if the US applies visa restrictions on them, these claims are fake.
Several media including Pakistan Defense, Northeast News claimed that the US and Canada recently denied the visa to Bangladesh Air Chief Hannan Air Force chief but that news proved fake after Shaikh Abdul Hannan visited the USA on October 14 on an invitation of the chief of the US Air Force General Charles Q Brown Jr.
Later again, The Northeast News published another article saying “As US visa curbs kick in, Bangladesh air chief Hanna’s son returns to Dhaka”. In the article Northeast News claimed that BAF chief’s son studying in the USA but was forced to return to Bangladesh after a VISA restriction was imposed.
Following the claim, Press Xpress examined air chief Hanna’s son, Sheikh Habib Hannan’s biography and we found this news was fake too.
According to Sheikh Habib Hannan’s social media handles, he is not and was not studied in the USA. Labib completed his IBA from Dhaka University and now worked at British American Tobacco Company in Dhaka’s Gulshan area.
The latest research by the fact-checking platform Rumour Scanner said that they could identify six major fake information spread on social media. The research claimed that there were 111 fake news stories and disinformation in June, 128 in July, and 152 in August. In the past four months, Rumour Scammer had scanned at least 544 pieces of misinformation, disinformation, and rumour. These types of ill-motivated propaganda now dominate the cyberspace and somehow impact on public opinion. The propaganda against the state has had serious consequences for the country.
BNP’s Plot to Pose a Man as Joe Biden’s Aide Shorty After October 28 Rally
On 28 October, a video surfaced on social media showing a man seated at the BNP’s Nayapaltan office, addressing a press conference. He was sitting next to Ishraq Hossain, a BNP leader who had run for the mayor seat of Dhaka North a couple of years ago. The man– Mian Arefy – gave two introductions: one as a member of the National Democratic Committee and another as an advisor to US President Joe Biden.
In the press conference, Arafi pledged “support from US President Joe Biden to facilitate a change in the government in Bangladesh” for both BNP and Jamaat. Arafi boldly asserted that the US president strongly supports the reinstatement of the caretaker government.
Later, the US Embassy in Dhaka has since clarified that reports of any embassy relocation are entirely “false and inaccurate.” The fake press conference got immediate backlash from the government and the concert citizens. Several of Bangladeshi media immediately published report based on the press conference without fact-checking and many in social media believed the claim.
Scrutinizing Arafi’s profile, Press Xpress found that Arafi wrote in his Facebook bio that he worked at Capitol Hill in Washington DC, the heart of the American government. It also says he works at Members of the National Democretic Committee, which doesn’t exist in the USA.
The misspelling – Democratic – raises doubts.
Later police arrested the fake advisor to Biden and he however said that he “only followed instructions he received at the BNP office.”
During his statement at the DB office, Arefy said, “On October 28, Lt General (retired) Chowdhury Hasan Sarwardi brought me to the BNP party office to discuss their programme. They requested me to deliver a speech. They asked me to introduce myself as a ‘leader of the Democratic Committee’ and ‘Joe Biden’s adviser,’ and deliver a speech. I said what I was asked to say.”
The incident angered many and people raised concerns that BNP tried to destabilize the country after their unsuccessful grand rally on October 28.
BNP circulating misinformation using old photos, videos.
A tendency of sharing old photographs, videos and screengrabs of news reports centring different political rallies and protest processions claiming those as recent incidents is becoming evident. This was also seen over the rallies of de facto opposition BNP. The party has been sharing old photographs, videos and screengrabs of news reports claiming those as recent.
A blood-soaked picture of BNP leader Gayeshwar Chandra Roy was shared on Facebook. Although the picture was claimed to be recent, it was actually taken back in 2018 during a BNP rally in Keraniganj.
Moreover, a video was circulated from some Facebook IDs including ‘Bangladesh BNP News’ where a teen is seen confessing about torching a bus and claiming himself to be a Bangladesh Chhatra League member.
This video is at least four years old. This video can be found online dated back from 19-20 March in 2019. The video was taken during the protest centring the death of a student named Abrar Ahmed Chowdhury in a road accident.
On October 28, some popular social media accounts posted a news that Jamaat-Shibir men occupied the Shapla Chattar intersection with attaching some photos and videos.
But verifying the claim, Press Xpress found that the photos and videos are old and was captured on March 26, 2021 when Jamaat organized a protest rally in the capital. These timely fake propagandas are spread quickly in the country and creates confusion.
Spreading Disinformation is not New in Bangladesh
Disinformation against Bangladesh is certainly not a new phenomenon. In 2013, hundreds of propagandas were surfaced in the web claiming that hundreds of Hefazat supporters had been killed and their bodies dumped inside sewer pipes and drains.
However, Investigations conducted by the administration found no bodies and therefore no proof of such innuendo.
The same efforts were taken to discredit trial of 1971 war criminals alleging that the trials were not fair. That was a deviation from the truth. Moreover, the defenders of the war criminals carefully and deliberately overlooked facts — that the accused had openly and proudly engaged in orchestrating the killings of large numbers of Bengalis throughout the course of the war in 1971, that a whole body of evidence testified to their guilt.
The rising spread of false information on social media platforms has led to the manipulation of public opinion and undermining of democratic processes. Fake news in particular can create social divisions by exploiting emotional issues, spreading conspiracy theories, and polarising people along political and ideological lines.
