One Rajon returns to Bangladesh after fighting in Ukraine-Russia war, photo of different Rajon used by media outlets
Many Bangladeshi media outlets reported on the return home of Rajon Hossain, a Bangladeshi youth who was forced to take part in the Ukraine-Russia war. However, reports by bdnews24, The Financial Express and Daily Sun used a photo of a different Rajon Hossain, who had gone to fight in Russia.
On August 22, bdnews24’s report was headlined “Bangladeshi sent to war in Russia on his way home.” According to the report, a young man was sent to Russia under the pretext of work. He was later forced to take part in the Russia-Ukraine war. After being rescued, he is now returning home. It said the young man, named Rajon Hossain, will arrive in Bangladesh on an Ethiopian Airlines flight via the country’s capital, Addis Ababa.
Part of the report said, “Rajon runs a Facebook page called ‘Rajon on the Go-Bangla.’ There, he shares various photos and videos from the war. He was also injured in the fighting. He had been trying to return from the battlefield for a long time.”
A review of the “Rajon on the Go – Bangla” page found that it belongs to a Bangladeshi individual who took part in the Russia-Ukraine war. According to the email listed on the page, his name is Md Rajon Hossain. He regularly uploads photos and videos in soldier’s attire from the page.
On August 23, the page attached a screenshot of bdnews24’s Facebook post and flagged it as fake, also advising that facts be verified before publishing any news. Contacted for details on the matter, Md Rajon Hossain, admin of the “Rajon on the Go – Bangla” page, did not respond.
bdnews24’s report used three photos. Dismislab’s verification found that the person in the second photo is not the same as the person in the first and last photos. While the second photo is of the Rajon Hossain who returned home, the other two photos are of Rajon from the “Rajon on the Go – Bangla” page.
In the second photo, Rajon Hossain, who returned to Bangladesh, is seen standing with Md Nazrul Islam, Bangladesh’s ambassador to Russia. The photo has been used by multiple media outlets (1, 2, 3).
The other two photos used in bdnews24’s report are of Rajon Hossain from the “Rajon on the Go – Bangla” page. Of these, the first photo can be found on his own page. Although no source was found for the second photo, he can be seen with a similar beard in multiple videos posted from the page (1, 2, 3).
No resemblance was found between the faces of Rajon Hossain, admin of the “Rajon on the Go – Bangla” page used by bdnews24, and the Rajon Hossain who returned home. Testing with the help of a face comparison tool showed a 39% match between the two faces. According to the tool’s description, two people cannot be said to be the same if the match is below 80%.
The Financial Express and The Daily Sun also used the photo of the different Rajon. The Financial Express’s headline, published August 22, read, “Bangladeshi man forced to fight in Ukraine returning from Russia.” The Daily Sun’s report, published the same day, was headlined “Bangladeshi duped into Russia-Ukraine war to return home today.” Both reports used the photo of Rajon Hossain from the Rajon on the Go – Bangla page.
(All social media and news media captions, quotations, and news excerpts in this article have been translated into English from the languages in which they were originally posted or published.)
