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Anti-Bangladeshi disinformation in India

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Soon after the resignation of Sheikh Hasina, a strong ally of India, the Indian media outlets, along with India-based social media accounts, began disseminating disinformation against Bangladesh with an intent to destabilize the country.[1][2] The themes include misleading or exaggerated reports of violence against Bangladesh's Hindu community, discrediting the backgrounds or activities of the cabinet members of Interim government of Bangladesh.[3][4][5] Sensationalist media outlets, especially those closely associated with the ruling party in India, the Bharatiya Janata Party, attempted to portray the mass uprising as an Islamist-backed military takeover of the country purportedly orchestrated by India's rivals, Pakistan (through its intelligence agency) & China.[6][7]

Background

After a mass uprising, Sheikh Hasina the then Prime Minister of Bangladesh was forced to resign on 5 August 2024, while an interim government led by Muhammad Yunus assumed office. Sheikh Hasina had long been a strong ally of India and was known for working for Indian interests in Bangladesh, often at the cost of Bangladesh's sovereignty. Soon after Sheikh Hasina's departure, diplomatic relations between Bangladesh and India began to deteriorate.[8][9][10]

Disinformation

Violence against Hindus

Quoting BJP leader and Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, several Indian media outlets falsely claimed that over 10 million Bangladeshi Hindus are fleeing to India for refuge, claiming that Bangladesh is turning into an "Islamic State".[1]

A false report also claimed that the house of Bangladeshi cricketer Liton Das had been set on fire, which was later debunked.[11][12] Das himself refuted the claim in a Facebook post.[13] 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.[14]

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 organizations.[2]

Reports on interim government

On 11 September 2024, Dipanjan Roy Chaudhury, an editor of the Indian newspaper The Economic Times, published a false report stating that Alam is a former member of the Islamist organisation, Hizb ut-Tahrir.[15] Alam later addressed the issue on his verified Facebook page, stating that he has never been affiliated with the organization and has consistently opposed its ideology. He also characterized the report as a "smear campaign" by the Indian media.[16]

Republic Bangla produced a fake news on 6 November 2024, where the news anchor was seen claiming that the Chief Advisor 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.[17][18]

Following the murder of Saiful Islam Alif, several Indian media outlets, including FirstPost, The Economic Times, Republic World and OpIndia, published fabricated reports claiming that Alif was the lawyer of Chinmoy Krishna Das, a Hindu leader who was arrested on sedition charges.[19] Indian media outlets also falsely claimed that Alif was shot dead by police.[20] However, reports indicated that Alif was in fact killed by the followers of Das.[21]

Analysis

Analysts Farid Erkizia Bakht and Siddharth Varadarajan suggested that India's intent to destabilize Bangladesh through this disinformation campaign 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.[1]

BBC News and Deutsche Welle, France 24 and some fack-checking websites highlighted several rumors 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]

References

  1. ^ a b c Mahmud, Faisal; Sarker, Saqib. "'Islamophobic, alarmist': How some India outlets covered Bangladesh crisis". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
  2. ^ a b "বাংলাদেশে হিন্দুদের ওপর হামলা নিয়ে ভারতে অপতথ্যের প্রচার". Prothom Alo (in Bengali). 11 August 2024. Archived from the original on 11 August 2024. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  3. ^ "Bangladesh's New Democracy Under Threat From Flood of Misinformation". thediplomat.com. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
  4. ^ "Misinformation over Hindus being targeted in Bangladesh fuels Islamophobia fears". South China Morning Post. 23 August 2024. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
  5. ^ "Disinformation About Attacks on Minorities Threaten Stabilization Efforts in Bangladesh". thediplomat.com. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
  6. ^ Mojumdar, Aunohita (2024-08-24). "How India's majoritarian politics drive its lazy and dismissive commentary on Bangladesh". Scroll.in. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
  7. ^ Bajpai, Shailaja (2024-08-08). "Indian TV news blame US, China, Pakistan for Bangladesh, call it 'Islamist takeover'". ThePrint. Retrieved 2024-10-21.
  8. ^ "Bangladeshis launch 'India Out' campaign over alleged meddling linked to Hasina". South China Morning Post. 23 February 2024. Archived from the original on 14 July 2024. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  9. ^ "What does Sheikh Hasina's resignation mean for India-Bangladesh relations?". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 15 September 2024. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
  10. ^ Ellis-Petersen, Hannah (2 September 2024). "'A myopic policy': India's backing of ousted Bangladesh leader Sheikh Hasina leaves it in a bind". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
  11. ^ "Did protesters set Hindu Bangladesh cricketer Liton Das' house on fire?". Deccan Chronicle. 7 August 2024. Archived from the original on 9 August 2024. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
  12. ^ "Fact check: False claims fuel ethnic tensions in Bangladesh". Times of Oman. 8 August 2024.
  13. ^ "Litton denies rumors of attack on his home". Dhaka Tribune. 9 August 2024.
  14. ^ "The violence in Bangladesh after Hasina's ouster stirs fear within the country's Hindu minority". Associated Press. 14 August 2024.
  15. ^ Chaudhury, Dipanjan Roy (2024-09-11). "Outlawed radical outfit Hizb ut Tahrir pressurises Bangladesh interim government to lift ban". The Economic Times. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 2024-09-27.
  16. ^ "Mahfuz forced to issue clarifications on his belief system, ideology, role in movement". Dhaka Tribune. 14 September 2024. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  17. ^ "প্রধান উপদেষ্টাকে নিয়ে গুজব ছড়াচ্ছে রিপাবলিক বাংলা". kalerkantho. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  18. ^ "দেশেই আছেন প্রধান উপদেষ্টা, মার্কিন নির্বাচন ঘিরে তাঁকে নিয়ে ভারতের আর বাংলার গুজব". amadershomoy. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  19. ^ "Fact Check: Lawyer Killed In Bangladesh Was Not Defending Arrested Former ISKCON Priest". NDTV.com. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
  20. ^ "নিহত সাইফুলকে চিন্ময় দাসের আইনজীবী দাবি করে ভারতীয় সংবাদমাধ্যমে মিথ্যাচার". Banglanews24 (in Bengali). Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  21. ^ "ইসকন সমর্থকদের হাতে খুন আলিফ চিরনিদ্রায় শায়িত". Jugantor. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  22. ^ a b "Far-right spreads false claims about Muslim attacks in Bangladesh". BBC News. 18 August 2024. Archived from the original on 18 August 2024. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  23. ^ Ghaedi, Monir (7 August 2024). "Fact check: False claims fuel ethnic tensions in Bangladesh". Deutsche Welle. Archived from the original on 8 August 2024. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  24. ^ "Attacks and online misinformation frighten Bangladeshi Hindus". France 24. 11 August 2024. Archived from the original on 11 August 2024. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  25. ^ "Attacks on minorities: BBC, dismislab debunk fake news". The Daily Star. 12 August 2024. Archived from the original on 14 August 2024. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
  26. ^ "BBC Verify uncovers misinformation about Hindu persecution in Bangladesh". Dhaka Tribune. 12 August 2024.
  27. ^ "Old video of student rally falsely shared as Hindus protesting in Bangladesh after PM ouster". AFP. Archived from the original on 20 August 2024. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
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