Rumor Scanner, a Bangladeshi fact-checking initiative, found through its investigations that X accounts operated from India and several Indian media outlets played a significant role in spreading propaganda against Bangladesh. It said while many attacks occurred against those with Hindu religious identities due to their ‘political affiliations or grievances’, numerous incidents were falsely propagated as ‘communal attacks’. Rumor Scanner identified false reports published in Indian media Between August 5th and 13th, Rumor Scanner’s investigation unit identified 50 accounts on the microblogging site X (formerly Twitter) that had disseminated various images, videos and information related to the August events in Bangladesh, presenting them in a communal light. Rumor Scanner found evidence of the propagation of communal misinformation and false information in at least one post from each of these accounts. These posts, disseminated between August 5th and 13th, were viewed over 15.4 million times. Rumor Scanner’s investigation unit has found that 72% of the accounts spreading fake and misinformation are located in India. Police on high alert to prevent rumors during Durga Puja Celebrations: IGP Fighting against such a large volume of disinformation in such a short time in August was quite challenging for Rumor Scanner, it said. During this time, false information on various sensitive issues in Bangladesh has also spread beyond social media and reached the Indian media. It said several Indian media outlets claimed in August that bans on several banned extremist organisations had been lifted in Bangladesh which Rumor Scanner verified and found this claim to be false. Over the next few months, the same accounts, as well as many others, continued to spread misinformation related to Bangladesh. Rumor Scanner verified two such claims from Indian X accounts during Durga Puja,the biggest religious festival of Hindus, which have been viewed at least 550,000 times. Indian media, alongside social media, regularly spread false information about the interim government. False claims such as Dr Yunus’s physical illness or D Yunus fleeing to France after Trump’s victory were widely propagated by the Indian media. Besides a false claim circulated on social media, where a man named Abdullah Al Mahfuz, who was arrested in 2019 as a Hizbut Tahrir leader in Chattogram, was falsely claimed to be Adviser Mahfuj. Rumor Scanner confirmed that the two persons are different. On November 10th, when the Awami League announced the commemoration of Shaheed Noor Hossain Day, a claim went viral on numerous X accounts stating that a Hindu woman was raped while participating in this programme. This explosive claim, shared in posts reaching nearly 800,000 people, was proven false, said Rumor Scanner. In November, an Indian television channel named ‘Republic Bangla’ falsely claimed that a Pakistani ship carrying weapons and ammunition had arrived at the Chittagong Port. A renewed wave of disinformation began in late November after the arrest of former ISKCON leader Chinmoy Krishna Das on sedition charges. This led to unrest, including the killing of lawyer Saiful Islam. Indian media and X accounts, including those flagged by Rumor Scanner in August, drove this campaign, spreading posts rapidly due to their large followings. Rumor Scanner’s analysis highlighted patterns in these campaigns: framing incidents involving Hindu victims as communal, misrepresenting political violence, and making unverified claims of extremist takeovers or atrocities against minorities. The Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council (BHBCUC) also contributed to this framing, with exaggerated claims debunked by investigations, including one by Netra News. For example, their report of nine communal killings was refuted as politically or criminally motivated. Between August and December, Rumor Scanner detected 120 pieces of misinformation, with significant spikes in November. Indian media, including 49 outlets, spread 13 false narratives about Bangladesh, aided by figures like BJP politicians Suvendu Adhikari and Agnimitra Pal, ex-cricketer Danish Kaneria, and Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasrin. The misinformation on X alone has been viewed over 200 million times, with one post exceeding 10 million views. While some incidents of communal violence in Bangladesh are genuine, the exaggerated portrayal of Hindu persecution distorts the reality, risking tensions between Bangladesh and India and threatening regional security. Rumor Scanner warned of an increase in such campaigns in the future.

An investigation by the "Rumor Scanner" team found that between August 12 and December 5, 13 false reports were published in Indian media. A total of 49 Indian media outlets were identified for spreading these fake news stories, said the fact-checking website on Friday. Rumor Scanner is an independent digital journalism initiative with a mission to fight misinformation, and the country’s ongoing rumours, explain issues and provide accurate information to the public to make the internet safer. Among flase reports, Republic Bangla led the list, broadcasting five rumors. Hindustan Times, Zee News, and Live Mint followed closely, each spreading three rumours. Besides, Republic, India Today, ABP Anand, and Aaj Tak each broadcast two rumours. The remaining 41 media outlets each broadcasted one rumour. Following the fall of the Awami League government, Indian media outlets began circulating a series of rumours about the situation in Bangladesh, said the Rumor Scanner. Among these rumours were: a fake open letter attributed to Sheikh Hasina after her resignation, a video of a human chain by a Muslim man searching for his missing son being falsely claimed to involve a Hindu person, a false report claiming Dr Muhammad Yunus was admitted to the ICU, baseless claims about lifting the ban on banned militant organisations in Bangladesh, a fabricated story claiming Dr Yunus fled to France after Trump’s victory, false allegations about arms being smuggled into Bangladesh via a Pakistani ship, misrepresentation of the slain lawyer Saiful Islam as Chinmoy Krishna’s lawyer, rumors about Indian channels being banned in Bangladesh, the spreading of a video of idol immersion in India falsely claiming it was in response to Hindu idols being destroyed in Bangladesh due to Muslim attacks, a false claim about an attack on a Shyamoli Paribahan bus, fabricated reports of an assault on Chinmoy Krishna’s lawyer, and misleading news about the UK issuing a travel advisory due to potential terrorist attacks in Bangladesh. After being ousted from power on August 5 and seeking refuge in India, Sheikh Hasina allegedly issued an open letter from Delhi to the public, claiming that the United States was responsible for her removal. Indian propaganda cannot harm us: Adviser Sakhawat This claim was widely circulated in Indian media. However, it was later revealed that Sheikh Hasina had not issued any such letter. An investigation by the Rumor Scanner team found that the letter first spread on Facebook and was later published with a date in the print edition of the Agartala-based daily Tripura Bhobishyot. Following this, screenshots of the letter were widely shared on social media and later broadcast by several media outlets in both India and Bangladesh. After August 5, a video spread across various Indian media outlets, claiming that a Hindu man was holding a human chain to search for his missing son. But, an investigation by the Rumor Scanner team revealed that the man was actually Muslim, and his name was Babul Howlader. His son has been missing since 2013, and the human chain was organised in an effort to find him. After Sheikh Hasina lost power, an interim government was formed on August 8, with Dr Muhammad Yunus appointed as the chief adviser. Indian media outlets claimed that Dr Yunus, the chief adviser of the interim government, had fallen ill and was admitted to the ICU. A photo of a patient receiving treatment in a hospital was also published alongside this claim. However, an investigation by the Rumor Scanner team revealed that the photo was not of Dr Yunus. In fact, it was neither recent nor from Bangladesh. Dr Yunus is, in fact, in good health. Indian media outlets claimed that after the political change in Bangladesh, bans on several banned militant organisations had been lifted. However, an investigation by the Rumor Scanner team found no truth to this claim. The false assertion was circulated in Indian media without any reliable information or evidence to support it. On November 5, Donald Trump, the Republican candidate, won the 47th Presidential election in the United States. Following Trump’s victory, a claim spread across Indian media alleging that Dr. Muhammad Yunus had fled to France. However, an investigation by the Rumor Scanner team found that this claim was false. The photo used as evidence of his escape was actually taken on August 8, when Dr. Yunus was returning from France to Bangladesh. On November 13, for the first time since independence, a container-carrying ship docked at the Port of Chittagong directly from Karachi, Pakistan. Indian media outlets claimed that the ship was the same Pakistani military vessel, “Swat”, which had brought arms and ammunition to Chittagong during the 1971 Liberation War. Indian media spreading propaganda about Bangladesh: Home Affairs Adviser They further alleged that the ship was carrying weapons from Pakistan to Bangladesh. However, an investigation by the Rumor Scanner team found no truth to these claims. The ship’s name was MV Yuan Xiang Fa Zhan, a commercial vessel that brought industrial raw materials and consumer goods to Bangladesh. On November 25, the Detective Police arrested Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, the spokesperson of the United Sanatan Awakening Alliance, at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on charges of disrespecting the national flag. The following day, on November 26, he was presented before a Chittagong court, where his bail was denied. Tensions rose in the court premises, and as authorities attempted to escort Chinmoy to a prison van for transfer to jail, his supporters began protesting. The police and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) used batons and sound grenades to disperse the demonstrators. During the clashes, Chittagong District Court lawyer Saiful Islam Alif was killed. Indian media outlets claimed that Saiful Islam was murdered because he was Chinmoy’s lawyer. However, this claim was incorrect. Chinmoy’s lawyer was Subhashish Sharma, not Saiful Islam. Some Indian media outlets claimed that the broadcasts of Indian satellite channels had been shut down in Bangladesh. However, an investigation by the Rumor Scanner team found that the channels were still operational. Both the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the Cable Operators Association of Bangladesh confirmed to the Rumor Scanner that the claim was a false rumor. Indian media also reported that the Bangladesh Air Force, with China’s technical assistance, was planning to build Asia’s second-largest airbase near Chicken Neck. But, the Rumor Scanner team found this claim to be entirely false. The Lalmonirhat airport has been closed for over six decades, and there have been no recent initiatives to resume its operations. Recently, a video claiming that Muslims in Bangladesh attacked a Hindu temple and vandalised idols spread online. This claim was also promoted by some Indian media outlets. However, the Rumor Scanner team found that the video was not from Bangladesh but from the village of Sultanpur in East Burdwan district, India, showing a scene of idol immersion. The video was unrelated to any attacks on Hindu temples in Bangladesh. Following reports in some Indian media outlets claiming a collision between a Shyamoli Paribahan bus and a Bangladeshi truck on the Dhaka-Agartala-Dhaka route in Brahmanbaria, it was further claimed that local people had threatened the lives of Indian passengers aboard the bus and chanted anti-India slogans. And, the Rumor Scanner team found no truth to these claims. The accident occurred due to overtaking, not intentionally, and there was no evidence of any threats or anti-India slogans. Various rumours were spread around the arrest of Chinmoy Das, including the use of a hospital image of a person who was claimed to be Ramen Roy, Chinmoy Krishna Das’s lawyer. The rumours further claimed that Muslims had attacked his home and hospitalised him in the ICU. And the Rumor Scanner team found that Ramen Roy was not Chinmoy Das’s lawyer, nor was he involved in the case. In fact, Ramen Roy was injured during an attack by miscreants at a program organised by Sanatan Hindus in Shahbagh on November 25. There were no reports or evidence of his house being vandalised. Some Indian news outlets claimed that the UK had issued a travel advisory warning of potential terrorist attacks in Bangladesh. However, this claim was misleading. The travel advisory was not specific to Bangladesh but was part of a broader alert that also included countries such as India, Indonesia, Germany, Spain, Sri Lanka, France, and others. Fight Indian media's misformation campaign with truth: CA's Press Secretary Typically, UK travel advisories apply to all travelers and are not region-specific. While a specific warning was issued for the Chittagong Hill Tracts due to ongoing violence, no such advisory was issued for other areas of Bangladesh. Besides, the UK’s advisory indicated that the risk of terrorist attacks was considered higher in countries like India, France, Germany, Russia, the USA, and Pakistan compared to Bangladesh.