Photos of actors holding sheaves of paddy are doctored
Two photos circulating on Facebook appear to show film actors holding sheaves of paddy and campaigning for Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) ahead of the parliamentary polls. However, a fact-check by Dismislab found that the images are old and have been digitally altered.
One of the photos was shared on February 8 from an individual Facebook account with the caption reading, “Film artists are campaigning for the sheaf of paddy”—BNP’s electoral symbol. The image shows actors Riaz, Misha Sawdagar, Zayed Khan, Emon, Subrata Chakraborty, and Symon Sadik posing together, holding sheaves of paddy in front of a truck loaded with sacks that appear to contain rice. The name “Muslima Akter” is overlaid on the image. The same photo was later shared by the Facebook page “Only for Sobuj” with the same claim.
A reverse image search shows the photo was originally published by Bangladeshi daily Prothom Alo on May 6, 2017. The article, titled “Simon Leaves Everyone Behind,” reported on the Bangladesh Film Artistes Association election that year, in which Symon was elected an executive member with the highest number of votes. The original caption reads: “Symon takes a selfie with Zayed Khan, Misha Sawdagar, Riaz, Emon, and Subrata at FDC.” In the original image, none of the actors are holding sheaves of paddy. The same photo also appeared in several other media reports (1, 2, 3, 4).
A second image was shared on February 9 by the “Only for Sobuj” page, showing several people, including actors Riaz, Bapparaj, Misha Sawdagar, and Zayed Khan. The caption reads: “This is the first time I have seen film actors campaigning for the sheaf of paddy.” The image shows some of the actors holding sheaves of paddy, while the words “ONLY FOR SOBUJ” are visible in the background.
A reverse image search found the original photo posted on August 19, 2025, by actor Symon Sadik on his verified Facebook page with the caption: “Ultimately, everyone stands alone.” The same photo was shared by a Facebook page named “Channel Dhaka 2.0” on February 2.
Both images circulating on Facebook are digitally manipulated. Sheaves of paddy were added to old photos to falsely suggest that actors were campaigning for the BNP.
Disclaimer: The original version of this fact-check report was published in Bengali on Dismislab’s Bengali website on February 9, 2026. The English translation was completed later; however, to maintain time accuracy and avoid any potential misinterpretation, the English version has been published with the original publication date.
