Video of protest in Tripura falsely shared as Bangladesh
Recently, multiple false claims have been observed spreading on social media, centering on the unrest between hill people and Bengalis in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. A new false claim on Facebook states that the hill people of the Chittagong Hill Tracts are protesting for the withdrawal of the military until they are included in India. However, Dismislab’s verification revealed that the video is actually from Tripura, India, not Bangladesh.
Several posters (1, 2, 3) shared a video on Facebook, claiming it to be from the Chittagong Hill Tracts. The video shows a group of people protesting with banners in hand. In the video, a person can be heard addressing Dr. Muhammad Yunus, saying, “Until the Chittagong Hill Tracts become an integral part of India or are included in India, the deployment of the military and genocide must stop, and the army must be withdrawn.”
Sharing the same video of the incident, one user wrote in the caption, “Immediate action should be taken against these people. How dare they openly talk about becoming part of India while standing on the ground of this country? People with such intentions should be crushed to the ground.That’s it.” Another user shared the video and wrote, “Gracefully leave the Chittagong Hill Tracts and enter India. You are not worthy of staying here in Bangladesh.”
On the other hand, several profiles (1, 2) on Facebook claimed, “The Chakmas and Hindus of there (Chittagong Hill Tracts) have demanded that the region be made a part of India. We support this.” The locations of these profiles were shown to be in various parts of India.
Upon verification Dismislab found the same video on a Facebook page called “Voice of CHT.” The video was shared on September 23. A live video of the same incident was also found on the same day. The caption mentioned that the place is in Tripura and stated, “The rally warned that the people of Tripura would not cooperate unless the four parties in the hills were united, demanding the inclusion of hilly Chittagong with India.” The banner seen in the Facebook live had the name of a place called Pencharthal, Unakoti, in Tripura. Tripura is a state in India. Therefore, the video was actually recorded in Pecharthal, Tripura, India. It was a scene from a protest organized by locals against ongoing violence in the hills of Bangladesh.
Notably, in protest of the attacks and violence against the hill people in Bangladesh’s Chittagong Hill Tracts, locals called for protest rallies in various parts of Tripura, including its capital Agartala, on September 23. The shared video is from one such protest rally.
Since the violence began in the hills, various misinformation has spread on social media. Dismislab has published multiple fact-check reports (1, 2, 3) regarding those.
