Misleading videos from old protest used to target BD Interim Government

Recently, two videos have been circulating on social media. In one of them, police are seen handcuffing and arresting several people, with the caption of the video, claiming they are members of the former ruling party Awami League’s student wing, falsely accused in a case. Another video features a female student criticizing mass arrests, with a caption stating, “Yunus’s government has started mass arrests after the mass killing.” However, fact-checking reveals that these claims are false, and the videos are old. 

Upon searching social media, Dismislab discovered that both incidents took place before August 5, the day Awami League, former ruling party, government fell. The individuals arrested were involved in protests against the Awami League government, and the woman was also criticizing the arrests of protesters. These misleading videos are now being spread from Facebook pages and profiles of Awami League supporters, criticizing the interim government. 

Video 1

On Tuesday, the first video was posted from several pages (1, 2, 3), sometimes with captions or descriptions, sometimes without. One of the posts was posted from a page called ‘Dekha Hobe Rajpathe.’ The description stated, “Chhatra League activists accused in false case…”. The video shows police handcuffing several individuals, accompanied by a soundtrack of slogans like “Joy Bangla, Joy Bangabandhu.” At least two videos used the hashtag #StepDownYounus in their description and comments. One comment read, “Yunus should resign immediately for his failure to control the country’s situation!”

The same video was shared from a page called ‘Chauddagram Upazila Awami League.’ There was no description, but many Awami League supporters commented under it. One user wrote, “Joy Bangla, Joy Bangabandhu. Our prayers are with you brothers. Victory will surely come.” The video has been shared more than a thousand times so far. 

While verifying the sources, it was found that the handcuffing incident occurred on August 1. On July 31, during the Quota Reform Movement’s March for Justice, over 50 people were arrested in Khulna, a division of Bangladesh. While many were later released, 11 individuals were sent to prison on August 1. The video shows these individuals being transferred from court to jail, with one of them being Niyaz Mursid Dolon.

In the video spread with false claims, the person seen at the front, on the right, is Dolon. In a Facebook post on July 31, a user posted a picture of him at the time of his arrest. The caption of the picture was “Brother Dolon, July 31, 2024.” The same clothes he is seen wearing in the picture are also seen in recent video reels posted by various pro-Awami pages.

On July 31, another user wrote, “Brother Dolon has been found. He is being held at Sonadanga Police Station.” On August 2, a user protested Dolon’s arrest through a Facebook post. In the picture of this post, two other people are seen, who were also visible in reel videos posted by pages named ‘Chauddagram Upazila Awami League’ and ‘Dekha Hobe Rajpothe,’ wearing the same clothes and in the same location.

Video 2

Another video, recorded during the Anti-Discrimination Movement, was posted in the ‘Supporters of Bangladesh Awami League’ group, with the caption, “Bangladesh will rise again, we were better off before.” The hashtags #CountdownStarted and #StepdownYounus were used in the post. In the video, a woman is heard saying, “Let me stop talking about the mass killing, now what has started is mass arrests. Whether there is evidence or not, they are being arrested.” One user commented, “We were better off before,” while another wrote, “Dr. Yunus said, ‘Criticize me as much as you want.’ Now it seems if you criticize, you face lawsuits and job dismissals.” Many are interpreting this as a statement against the interim government.

The same video was posted on another page called ‘Sotter Pothe Bangladesh,’ with the description stating, “After the mass killing, Yunus’ government has begun mass arrests.” The video has also been shared by several pages and profiles (1, 2, 3, 4) of Awami League supporters.Upon searching for the source, the video was found on the YouTube channel of the private television station “My TV,” uploaded on August 2. The title was also: “Genocide is over, now mass arrests have begun,” but the context was entirely different. The woman speaking in the video was actually criticizing the repressive policies of the then-Awami League government. At 23 seconds into the video, she is heard saying, “This movement started over quota reform. It was not against any government, nor any political party.” A short clip of this video was posted in the form of a YouTube Shorts on My TV’s channel on August 3. This Shorts video has now resurfaced, but it is being presented as criticism not of the Awami League, but of the interim government.