Fake Samakal photocard spreads linking Tarique Rahman and SUJAN
A photocard carrying the logo of the daily Samakal has been circulating on Facebook, claiming that BNP Chairperson Tarique Rahman instructed party activists to “stop extortion and violence until the election on February 12,” and that civil society group Shushashoner Jonno Nagorik (SUJAN) condemned his alleged remarks. But a Dismislab fact-check found that Samakal published no such photocard.
The image began circulating on February 7 from a Facebook group and included photos of SUJAN Secretary Dr. Badiul Alam Majumdar and Treasurer Syed Abu Naser Bakhtiar Ahmed. The caption read: “Alas! After the 12th, the people of this country will again be oppressed.”
Inside the fake graphic, the text claimed: “BNP Chairperson Tarique Rahman has advised party activists to stop extortion, threats, and killings until the election on the 12th.” The card further asserted: “SUJAN’s intellectuals strongly condemn this.” The Samakal logo appeared in the upper left, with the date “Saturday, February 7, 2026,” and the newspaper’s website address on the right. As of this report, the post had 79 reactions, six comments and 12 shares.
To verify the claim, Dismislab reviewed Samakal’s official Facebook page and website for photocards or posts dated February 7. No such graphic or report was found. Samakal did, however, publish a different photocard on the same day using the same image, titled: “SUJAN data: Among election candidates, 519 are loan defaulters, most from BNP.”
Contacted, Samakal’s online in‑charge, Gautam Mondal, confirmed to Dismislab: “This is a fake card. No such news or card was produced by Samakal.”
In short, the photocard circulated in the name of Samakal is fake.
Disclaimer: The original version of this fact-check report was published in Bengali on Dismislab’s Bengali website on February 11, 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.
