Violence against Hindus
Following the departure of Sheikh Hasina, Indian media outlets, quoting BJP leader and leader of the opposition in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, falsely claimed that over 10 million Bangladeshi Hindus may flee to India for refuge, claiming that Bangladesh is turning into an Islamic state. [2]
Several television news outlets also ran headlines falsely claiming that the violence constituted an "act of genocide" and a "pogrom", while an alleged arson attack on a Hindu temple was later found to have occurred at an adjacent Awami League office. [7]
Numerous India-based social media accounts circulated several misleading videos and images about attacks on Bangladeshi Hindus, using hashtags such as AllEyesOnBangladeshiHindus and SaveBangladeshiHindus, which were subsequently debunked by several fact-checking organisations. [8]
Scripted interviews
Indian media reporters were seen confiscating the passports of Bangladeshi Hindus travelling to India and forcing them to give false interviews on the "alleged Hindu persecution in Bangladesh". [9] [10] [11] The situation came into notice when Shuvo Karmakar from Faridpur District gave a false interview to ABP Ananda about attacks on Hindus living in his hometown. As journalists visited the place to fact-check, the residents described the allegations to be false while his parents said that Karmakar's passport was confiscated by Indian reporters as soon as he entered India through the Petrapole border. Karmakar was then forced to give a scripted interview with false accounts of attacks on Hindus. [12]
Reports on interim government
On 11 September 2024, Dipanjan Roy Chaudhury, an editor of the Indian newspaper The Economic Times , published a report stating that Mahfuj Alam, an adviser to the Yunus government, had "alleged allegiance" to the outlawed Islamist organisation, Hizb ut-Tahrir. [13] Alam later addressed the issue on his verified Facebook page, stating that he has never been affiliated with the organisation and has consistently opposed its ideology. He also characterised the report as a "smear campaign" by the Indian media. [14]
Republic Bangla produced a fake news on 6 November 2024, where the news anchor was seen claiming that the chief adviser Muhammad Yunus has fled to France following Donald Trump's reelection as the president of the United States in 2024. The anchor was then joined by the channel's senior editor Anirban Sinha, who corroborated the false claim, stating that Yunus had left the country and now staying in Paris. [15] [16]
In December 2024, Aaj Tak falsely claimed that Pakistani Armed Forces were patrolling the streets in Bangladesh. Showing a video, the outlet claimed that SWAT members from Punjab, Pakistan had landed in Dhaka. Debunking the claims, fact-checking revealed that the forces shown in the video were not Pakistanis but members of the Crisis Response Team (CRT) of Bangladesh Police. [17]
In January 2025, Anandabazar Patrika claimed that a coup d'état against the interim government is going to occur in Bangladesh. Later the press wing of the Chief Adviser of Bangladesh dismantled this claim. [18]
False reports on Islamist attacks and Islamisation
On February 2025, following the reports of a replica of the Shaheed Minar being vandalised by miscreants at Comilla's Chauddagram upazila, Aaj Tak Bangla broadcast a video showing students breaking another Shaheed Minar replica on the occasion of 21st February, claiming to be purportedly brainwashed by the Islamists. This fueled thoughts that Bangladesh was undergoing Islamisation similar to what had happened in Pakistan under the military dictator Zia-ul-Haq. Later Rumour Scanner clarified that the incident which was recorded at a secondary school in Jhenaidah's Sadar upazila was actually a planned demolition of a smaller replica following the inauguration of a larger Shaheed Minar replica at the campus before the 21st February. [19]
Analysis
Analyst Farid Erkizia Bakht suggested that India's intent to destabilise Bangladesh through these disinformation campaigns stems from the disappointment of losing a valuable ally like Sheikh Hasina and from apprehensions about the new government in the country harbouring anti-Indian sentiments. According to Bangladeshi political analyst Zahed Ur Rahman, Indian media viewed the mass uprising against the Hasina-government in Bangladesh through "their Islamophobic eye", despite the view in Bangladesh that it was a popular movement. [2] Media critic Shailaja Bajpai noted that sensationalist media agencies in India attempted to portray the uprising in Bangladesh as an Islamist-backed military takeover of the country, purportedly orchestrated by India's rivals, Pakistan (through its intelligence agency) and China. [20] Jon Danilowicz, a retired American diplomat, described the situation as India "stubbornly doubling down on its failed Bangladesh policy", adding that charges like the Yunus-led government being "an Islamist regime" or the "genocide against the Hindu minority" in Bangladesh to be "ridiculously untrue". [21]
BBC News , Deutsche Welle , France 24 and some fаct-checking websites highlighted several rumours circulated on X and other social medias. [22] [23] [24] BBC Verify has highlighted some false information circulating on social media that has been exaggerated or is unrelated to the actual incident. [25] [26] [22] [27] [28]
According to an investigation by Rumor Scanner Bangladesh, an independent fact-checking organisation, at least 49 Indian media outlets are involved in producing false reports against Bangladesh since 12 August 2024. [30] This includes Hindustan Times , Zee News , Live Mint , Republic , India Today , ABP Ananda , Aaj Tak , ANI , NDTV , WION etc., while Republic Bangla leads the list publishing the highest number of fake news reports. [30]
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