We're concerned about the continued prevalence of misinformation in post-uprising Bangladesh, with Rumor Scanner identifying 268 instances of fake news circulating online in February. Of them, 127—or 47 percent of the total—were political in nature, while 73 were related to national issues, 10 to international affairs, and 18 to religion. Naturally, the interim government was a frequent target, with 16 misinformation cases about it, mostly negative, along with 16 cases against the chief adviser and several others targeting other advisers. Meanwhile, BNP and its leaders, including Khaleda Zia and Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, each faced six negative cases. Jamaat-e-Islami and Islami Chhatra Shibir faced 13 and 16 cases respectively, mostly negative. The Student Against Discrimination platform also faced 10 cases, while its leaders were also targeted.

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Misinformation and disinformation: A threat to democracy in Bangladesh

In contrast to these mostly negative portrayals, misinformation involving Awami League, Chhatra League, and Sheikh Hasina greatly favoured them, suggesting a campaign by the fallen regime to improve its image. Clearly, fake news is being manufactured to manipulate public opinion with often devastating consequences. Worryingly still, mainstream media outlets themselves disseminated 10 pieces of fake news, while there were 57 cases of media impersonation using doctored logos and graphics, which is quite concerning. The role of Indian mainstream and social media in propagating false narratives has been equally troubling. For example, nine instances of misinformation about Bangladesh were found in Indian media. Rumor Scanner also identified 20 instances of communal misinformation, with half of them traced back to Indian social media accounts.

These trends at a time of continued political upheavals do not augur well for Bangladesh. The sheer volume of misinformation that spread in the months after the ouster of the Awami League government has been truly alarming. In January, we expressed our concern when news emerged that fact-checking organisations had debunked 58 percent more content in 2024 compared to the previous year. According to Dismislab's annual roundup, fact-checkers identified and verified over 3,000 unique pieces of false or misleading information last year, fuelling a wave of chaos the effects of which are still being felt.

These trends at a time of continued political upheavals do not augur well for Bangladesh. The sheer volume of misinformation that spread in the months after the ouster of the Awami League government has been truly alarming. In January, we expressed our concern when news emerged that fact-checking organisations had debunked 58 percent more content in 2024 compared to the previous year. According to Dismislab's annual roundup, fact-checkers identified and verified over 3,000 unique pieces of false or misleading information last year, fuelling a wave of chaos the effects of which are still being felt. While everyone agrees that curbing misinformation has become more urgent than ever before, no one seems to know how to go about it in a manner that eliminates the threat without infringing on people's rights.

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Curb misinformation with robust measures

The dangers of misinformation should be clear to us by now—it is fuelling confusion, division, and instability. Therefore, we must adopt a multi-pronged approach to address it. There should be more digital literacy campaigns to help users identify fake news, while social media platforms should take stronger action against disinformation campaigns. Fact-checking organisations should also receive greater institutional support to enhance their reach and impact. Meanwhile, mainstream media platforms must step up efforts to debunk false narratives and increase access to proper information.