Motorcycle rally video published by Manab Zamin predates strike by five days, confusing viewers
A video of a motorcycle “showdown,” or show-of-strength rally, by the banned Bangladesh Chhatra League has spread on Facebook. The Chhatra League is the student wing of the Awami League, the party of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, whose activities have also been banned. The news outlet Manab Zamin published the video on Nov 10, the day of a strike called by the Chhatra League, but did not say when the showdown took place. Many viewers have commented on the video, believing it shows events of Nov 10, and have shared it.
A 22-second video was posted at 1:36pm on Nov 10 from the verified Facebook page of the news outlet “Daily Manab Zamin”. The post read, “Banned Chhatra League’s motorcycle showdown in front of Army Golf Club in the capital, cocktails hurled.” (“Cocktails” is the term used in Bangladesh for crude homemade bombs.) Text inside the video read, “Banned Chhatra League’s motorcycle showdown in front of Army Golf Club in the capital” [sic]. However, neither the post nor the video says when the incident took place. As of this report’s publication, the post had received more than 5,500 reactions and more than 300 comments, and had been shared more than 250 times.
The video shows several people riding motorcycles along a road. Some of them are seen raising their hands and chanting slogans. A wall, trees and a signboard are visible beside the road.
Sharing the video, one user wrote, “Where are BNP’s alliance partners now? I haven’t seen them hold a single protest march against the Awami League.” Another user shared the same video and wrote, “The fight is on, and it will go on.”
Another profile shared the post and addressed Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Chairman Tarique Rahman with a comment on the Awami League’s political position. One person shared it with the caption, “This is the Awami League. The Awami League is the party that stands at the center of an irresistible pull on the streets.”
To verify the video, a reverse image search of several keyframes led to the same video on the verified Facebook page “Dhaka Report”. The page, which identifies itself as a news outlet, published the video on Nov 5. Its description read, “Banned Chhatra League’s motorcycle showdown in front of Army Golf Club in the capital, cocktails hurled. One police officer injured.”
The two videos match in the motorcycle riders, their clothing and their positions. In particular, a man in a light-colored T-shirt is seen sitting on a motorcycle with his hand raised. The positions of another rider beside him and a man in blue clothing on the left side of the road also match. The wall, trees and road environment in the background are the same.
The same scene was also found in a video on another Facebook page, “Gonokantho News”, which posted it on Nov 5. The video was also published with the same date and the same information on the Facebook page of the news outlet Ekushey Television.
In other words, the video published on Manab Zamin’s Facebook page on Nov 10 had been posted on social media at least five days earlier.
A report published by bdnews24.com about the incident was also found. It said that on the morning of Nov 5, a cocktail was allegedly hurled at a police patrol vehicle from a Chhatra League motorcycle procession in front of Kurmitola General Hospital, adjacent to Army Golf Club. One police officer was injured.
The same morning’s motorcycle procession, cocktail explosion and injury to a police officer were also reported by The Business Standard.
In other words, the motorcycle showdown video published on Manab Zamin’s Facebook page predates the banned Chhatra League’s strike by at least five days. However, because the original date of the incident was not mentioned, users are being misled into thinking it shows events of Nov 10.
It is worth noting that the banned organization Bangladesh Chhatra League called a nationwide strike on Nov 10 with an eight-point list of demands, including the withdrawal of the ban on the Awami League and the Chhatra League. Dismislab has published multiple fact-check reports on false claims circulated about the banned Chhatra League’s Nov 10 strike.
The BBC’s editorial guidelines state that news organizations may use old or archive material. However, they must ensure that audiences are not misled about an event, a situation or what is shown in the footage.
All social 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.
