Bangladesh Grapples with Surge in Disinformation on Social Media
Dhaka – A wave of disinformation targeting Bangladesh has inundated social media platforms since the Awami League government’s departure in August. This alarming trend, primarily observed on X (formerly Twitter), disseminates narratives aligned with Indian right-wing ideologies to audiences both within and outside India. A new report sheds light on the scale and nature of this disinformation campaign, raising concerns about its potential impact on national security and social harmony.
The Tech Global Institute (TGI), an independent tech policy nonprofit, conducted an in-depth analysis of 100 social media posts randomly selected from a dataset of 1000 posts related to specific hashtags, topics, and user activity between July 26 and November 26. Their findings, detailed in the report "The Anatomy of Disinformation on X," reveal the extent of the problem and the tactics employed by disinformation agents. The report indicates that X serves as the primary platform for this disinformation, hosting 77% of the analyzed posts, while the remaining 23% were found on Facebook and YouTube. Significantly, 35% of these posts were cross-posted across all three platforms, amplifying their reach. Private messaging services like Messenger and WhatsApp further facilitated the spread of disinformation, with 71% of the analyzed posts shared through these channels.
The volume of disinformation exhibited a distinct temporal pattern. While over 30% of the posts appeared in August, following the government change, the numbers dipped in September and October before surging dramatically in November, accounting for over 40% of the analyzed content. TGI linked this November surge to a staggering 214% increase in new X accounts disseminating disinformation about Bangladesh from the August-September period to October-November, suggesting a coordinated effort to escalate the campaign.
The dominant narrative pushed through these posts centered on the alleged "plight" of the Hindu community in Bangladesh. 27% of the analyzed posts focused on fabricated claims of "mass violence and killings of Hindus," while 21% distorted localized incidents into communal narratives. Other recurrent themes included allegations of religious discrimination and assault (18%), vandalism of Hindu properties and temples (9%), territorial annexation claims (6%), false accusations linking Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus and the interim government to terrorist groups (5% each), calls for violence or boycotts against Bangladesh (3%), and fabricated stories of mass rape and sexual assault against Hindu women (3%).
TGI’s analysis suggests strong links between these disinformation campaigns and Indian ultranationalist groups. Indicators such as the alignment of narratives with Indian right-wing ideologies, referencing content from Indian right-wing media outlets, use of Hindi in profiles and posts, frequent tagging of Indian political figures, coordinated engagement efforts, similar hashtags, and focus on Indian ultranationalist politics point towards a potential origin in India or coordination with groups operating within the country. The aim appears to be influencing audiences both in India and internationally, potentially to sow discord and negatively impact Bangladesh’s image.
The report identifies several tactics employed by disinformation agents, mirroring strategies used in previous disinformation campaigns orchestrated by state and non-state actors. These include distorting local events by injecting a communal angle, as seen in the misrepresentation of a mentally ill man’s actions in a Dhaka medical college as evidence of growing Islamic extremism. Exaggerated claims of violence, such as falsely reporting injuries during a Chittagong protest as mass killings by the army and Jamaat-e-Islami, were also prevalent. Discrediting the interim government and fabricating links to terrorism, alongside creating fake grassroots support through accounts like "Voices of Bangladeshi Hindus," further contribute to the disinformation ecosystem.
Worryingly, this disinformation has seeped into mainstream media, both within Bangladesh and internationally, particularly in India. False reports, like the misidentification of a deceased lawyer in a separate incident as being associated with a religious leader’s legal case, gained traction before being debunked by fact-checkers. This highlights the challenge of combating disinformation in a rapidly evolving media landscape.
While TGI acknowledges that the scale of this campaign hasn’t yet reached the level of those typically attributed to state-sponsored actors like China, Iran, Russia, or India, they emphasize the need to address the underlying national security and foreign policy issues that contribute to these threats. Apon Das, a research associate at TGI and co-author of the report, stresses the importance of expanding fact-checking efforts beyond local news sources and focusing on foreign actors involved in spreading disinformation about Bangladesh. Further research is crucial to understand and effectively counter these campaigns. The report serves as a wake-up call, highlighting the need for vigilance and proactive measures to address the growing threat of disinformation targeting Bangladesh.
