Old video falsely shared as attack on Bangladeshi Hindu women
A video of an attack on Hindu women has been circulating on social media. The video has been shared with claims that Islamists in Bangladesh are attacking defenseless Hindu women as part of a land-grabbing attempt. However, verification reveals that the claim is not true. The video is over two years old and unrelated to any land-grabbing incident.
The video of the attack has been shared by various accounts (1, 2) on X, claiming it to be a recent incident. A post from the X handle ‘HinduPost’ included a caption that reads, “Bangladeshi Islamists attack defenseless Hindu women, in apparent land grab attempt. Watch and learn how ‘spreading democracy in rules-based order’ works.” The shared video has garnered over 10,000 views and has been reposted nearly 500 times.
On Facebook, another user shared the video with a similar claim, writing, “Present-day Bangladesh is even more horrifying. Attacks on Hindu homes, looting, arson, and land-grabbing are happening regularly!” At the beginning of the 1-minute 33-second video, the logo of Bangladeshi media outlet *Prothom Alo* is visible.
Using keyframes from the video for reverse image search, the same video was found on Prothom Alo’s YouTube channel. The video report was published on June 3rd, 2022. The description stated, “In Sitakunda’s Bashbaria, two women were allegedly assaulted over picking Black Plum fruits. The victims are currently undergoing treatment at the hospital.”
A Dhaka Tribune report published on June 4th, 2022, revealed that an incident occurred in the Jorbot Tola area of Bashbaria Union in Sitakunda, Chattogram, where three women were allegedly assaulted over picking Back Plum fruits. A video of the incident went viral on social media back then. The same video is now being shared across multiple social media platforms, portraying it as a recent event in Bangladesh amidst the current situation.
