Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s (BNP) media cell affiliated magazine’s official twitter handle, tweets from which are retweeted by BNP supporters and activists, is running a “smear campaign” claiming the party boycotting Somoy TV talk shows has resulted in a decline in its viewership, says the TV authorities. Such claims are meant to “intimidate and prevent” the media from carrying out reportage ahead of the national election, analysts and senior journalists say. Read : BNP, like-minded parties set to hold mass processions in Dhaka Saturday With a graph purportedly showing a steep decline in the YouTube viewership of two TV channels — Somoy and Ekattor — in August, the tweet shared by BNP Media Cell’s magazine “The Road to Democracy” contains a “veiled threat” to mainstream media outlets, they say. “We call upon Bangladeshi media to take a strong, pro-democratic stance. In the end, a dictatorship takes down everyone. Your complicity will not save you,” reads the tweet. The tweet came after BNP leadership slapped an embargo on party leaders and activists from appearing in talk shows on the two leading television channels. For context, Somoy TV produced and aired a series of documentaries on convictions of the Zia family, including BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and her son Tarique Rahman. “The party has decided to temporarily boycott the talk shows of Ekattor TV and Somoy TV due to their biased approach. The decision has been made after consultations with senior BNP leaders who recently participated in these talk shows,” Shahid Uddin Chowdhury Annie, BNP's publicity secretary and member secretary of BNP Media Cell, had said. Read : BNP wants to indulge in evil game of 1/11 with Dr Yunus at the helm: Quader The graph shared with the post showed Somoy and Ekattor lost significant viewership on YouTube right after BNP’s decision to boycott their talk shows. The graph claims the YouTube viewership for Somoy TV did not cross the 40,000 mark since the boycott till August 13. But Somoy TV authorities say this claim is untrue.  Between July 28 and August 22, the impression gained by Somoy TV marked a 15 percent spike despite BNP’s boycott, as the total number soared to 2.6 billion, said Salauddin Salim, Head of Broadcast & IT at Somoy TV. Moreover, the total number of viewership on a daily basis till the said period remained almost the same with no sign of decline since the boycott, suggesting that the claim of “dip” in viewership is not true, he added. On the other hand, the total number of subscribers on Somoy’s YouTube channel reached 20.4 million from 20.2 million in the said time frame. Read : BNP leaders to avoid Somoy TV and Ekattor TV talk shows Months earlier, BNP's Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir lashed out at Somoy TV.  The Somoy TV report that had seemingly drawn the ire of the BNP leader highlights that both Tarique Rahman and Khaleda Zia were sentenced by courts.  "That report on our leaders – Tarique Rahman and Begum Zia – is like back-stabbing our democratic movement against the government. As we continue our movement to restore democracy, they should abstain from airing such reports," Fakhrul said about Somoy TV at a press conference. Media analysts say BNP’s call for “press freedom” rings hollow as such “intimidation tactics” clearly expose a “double standard”. Read more: Apathy of ‘unelected and irresponsible mayors, commissioners’ behind current dengue situation: BNP

Amidst several recent media reports quoting Transparency International Bangladesh’s Executive Director Dr Iftekharuzzaman as saying that keeping Khaleda Zia and Tarique Rahman – sentenced by the court – in BNP’s top leadership “contradicts” the party’s 27-point outline for state reform, which includes stance against corruption, and is a sign of “moral decay”, BNP’s Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has lashed out at Somoy TV for “running a story” on the issue. Featuring the BNP leader’s statement, Somoy TV today again relayed the earlier story — defending its position and justification behind the report which also included references to the testimony of a US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent in a money-laundering case against Tarique Rahman. “That report on our leaders — Tarique Rahman and Begum Zia — is like back-stabbing our democratic movement against the government. As we continue our movement to restore democracy, they should abstain from airing such reports,” Fakhrul said about Somoy TV at a press conference. While coming down hard on the TV channel, Fakhrul also admitted that “the channel is a mainstream news outlet and is accepted by people of the country as credible.”  Though the BNP leader claimed that no other news outlet except Somoy TV carried such report, a number of media houses, including Shomoyer Alo, UNB and Desh TV, featured the TIB executive director’s remarks on the party. This development comes after a Somoy TV journalist filed a complaint against BNP activists for “assaulting” him when he was covering the party’s rally held in Nayapaltan, Dhaka on January 16, 2023. Read more: Media being regulated with various laws: Fakhrul The Somoy TV report that has seemingly drawn the ire of the BNP leader highlights that both Tarique Rahman and Khaleda Zia were sentenced by courts. A Dhaka court recently asked the police to confiscate all assets of BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman. The report also makes reference to the law on whether those convicted of corruption can participate in elections. It also features the TIB executive director observing that BNP is talking about taking a bold position against corruption and at the same time running the party with convicts in top leadership. The report mostly dwells on the fate of the party under the circumstances. Referring to BNP’s 27 points, the TIB executive director had earlier wondered whether the party had the capacity to implement them. “Considering BNP’s history and its experience with people of the country, it can be said that political parties make manifestos. When they come to power, the picture is different, however. In that sense, this is a wish list. Although, many of the issues mentioned are important for Bangladesh,” he said. In November, 2011, an FBI agent testified in the Tk 20.41 crore money-laundering case filed against BNP chief Khaleda Zia’s son Tarique Rahman and his business partner Giasuddin Al Mamun. This was the first time that a US FBI agent testified before a court in Bangladesh. Debra Laprevotte, a supervisory special agent of the FBI, narrated before a Dhaka court how she had tracked down the money allegedly laundered by Tarique Rahman and Mamun to a bank account in Singapore. Khaleda Zia was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment by a special court in the Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case on February 8, 2018. She was convicted in a second corruption case later. Read more: Mirza Fakhrul isn't the type to balk at reporters' questions. Except this one. Amid the pandemic, the government suspended her jail term for six months through an executive order on March 25, 2020. The government extended her conditional release in the two corruption cases several times.

A legal notice has been sent to Election Commission (EC) and Somoy Television over publishing a report over Dr Sabrina’s dual National Identity Card (NID) scam involving former National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Chairman Dr Mizanur Rahman with it.

A reporter of Somoy TV came under attack by miscreants in Cox’s Bazar district town early Sunday.