Videos of misleading, fragmented and religiously-sensitive speech fuel public confusion
“Priests from the Dhakeshwari Temple will be able to come and perform puja at the Baitul Mukarram as needed…,”– Habib Un Nabi Khan Sohail, Joint Secretary General of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), is heard saying in a recently circulated 10-second clip on social media. In another 12-second video, former Member of Parliament and BNP leader Syeda Ashifa Ashrafi Papia is heard saying, “Tobacco is very harmful to the body, and Islam (Jamaat-e-Islam) is very harmful to religion.” Meanwhile, in a six-second video, local BNP leader Mia Mohammad Idris is heard saying, “Prayer and fasting are not required. You can go to heaven just by voting for the Sheaf of Paddy (BNP’s electoral symbol).”
The first video has been viewed nearly 800,000 times. The total engagement for the second video exceeded 30,000. The video of Md Idris Mia has been viewed more than 1.2 million times. Each of the speakers in these videos is affiliated with a specific political party, and each video is only a few seconds long.
Verification reveals that the speeches in the videos were not distorted or technologically altered . However, specific segments of the original full speeches were selected to present the meaning in a different way. In many cases, the captions of the videos themselves leveled allegations of blasphemy against the speakers. Other users expressed anger in the comment sections, using offensive terms such as “atheist,” “kafir” (infidel), “murtad” (apostate), and “trader of religion” against the speakers.
Ahead of the 13th national parliamentary election, Dismislab analyzed five such videos where the speeches of political party leaders were fragmented and presented misleadingly through a religious lens. Simultaneously, those spreading these videos were also monitored. Analysis shows that, in some cases, supporters of various opposition political parties as well as digital content creators are disseminating these videos. In many instances, such content is also spreading through content creators living abroad.
Experts say the strategy of presenting an actual statement or quote in fragments in a different context is known as decontextualization. This alters the meaning and intent of the speech. They state that in the context of Bangladesh, religion is a powerful medium for influencing public emotion. If someone can be accused of religious defamation, it quickly escalates into a major controversy. Various parties employ this strategy during election periods. Below are case studies of several such videos that have recently circulated:
Case Study 1
A portion of a speech by S. A. Jinnah Kabir, the BNP candidate for Manikganj-1 constituency, recently circulated on social media. It was claimed that he threatened that Hindus and supporters of the Awami League would not be allowed to live in the country if they did not vote for the BNP in the upcoming election.
The video was seen spreading on the verified Facebook page of the Bangladesh Awami League, the Basherkella page, and several Facebook pages (1, 2, 3) opened under the guise of media outlets. In a comment on one such post, one user wrote, “This man must be arrested immediately on charges of threatening minorities.” Another said, “Has there been no action against this man yet? If it were a person from Jamat, the government would have started a storm by now; why is he not being arrested?”
Verification shows that the video is being promoted with false claims by omitting the full context.
The 28-second video that went viral was recorded on January 2 at a meeting organized for Hindu community members in the Baniazuri union of Ghior upazila, Manikganj. In the circulated video, Jinnah Kabir is heard saying, “If you do not vote for the Sheaf of Paddy in the next election… none of you will be able to live on this soil of Bengal; there will be no independence for this Bengal.”
However, the nearly eight-minute full video of his speech was found on a verified Facebook profile opened under the name of S. A. Jinnah Kabir. There, he criticized the role of the political party Jamaat-e-Islami in 1971, stating:
“If the Awami League were in the election, the Awami League and BNP would have competed. There would be no fear for our independence. The BNP is present, the Awami League is not. Who is the BNP competing with? You know that party, and we know it too. Jamaat-e-Islami will fight against the BNP with the Scales (Daripalla) on February 12. This Jamaat-e-Islami publicly stood against Bengalis during the War of Independence in ’71, opposed independence, and handed over followers of the Sanatan (Hindu) faith to West Pakistani camps.”
Immediately after this statement, he made the comment in question while warning about the potential consequences if Jamaat came to power, which was then edited and promoted on social media without context.
That is, the circulated video is not evidence of threatening followers of the Sanatan faith, but rather a part of a critique regarding Jamaat-e-Islami, which was presented misleadingly by removing the context.
Case Study 2
A 9-second video of the speech of Roushan Ara Shirin, wife of Harunur Rashid Harun, Senior Joint Convenor of Dhaka South City BNP, recently circulated on social media. In the video, she is heard saying, “We will never value religion; we will value people. We never believe in religion-based politics.”
Sharing the video, one person wrote, “The people of Bangladesh will not support atheist hypocrites like you.” Another wrote, “BNP leader’s defamatory remarks about religion.” Another comment stated, “Nauzubillah (I seek refuge in Allah), we will never value religion.” A digital content creator named Jahid attached his own video to the clip and wrote, “Nauzubillah, we will never value religion.” The engagement for the video exceeded 10,000. In the comments of these posts, she was also attacked as an “atheist” and “hypocrite.” Several photocards were also seen circulating regarding the statement.
Verification shows that she delivered this speech on November 29 at a women’s wing (Mahila Dal) rally and a prayer session for the recovery of Khaleda Zia in Ramganj upazila in Lakshmipur district.
A 2:30-minute speech was found on a Facebook page named Lakshmipur Times, where she stated that the BNP never believes in religion-based politics or religious division and will ensure the security of people of all religions and communities if it comes to power. Explaining the matter, she said, “If the BNP comes to power, it will provide security measures for all, regardless of race or group.”
In her full speech, she further stated that Jamaat always tries to create confusion by using religion as a political weapon, and voters must remain alert to this. In this context, she said, “We will never value religion; we will value people”—meaning she was not speaking of a society without religion, rather, in the context of criticizing Jamaat-e-Islami, she meant viewing everyone equally as human beings rather than by religious identity.
Case Study 3
On the afternoon of January 22, former BNP Member of Parliament Syeda Asifa Ashrafi Papia spoke at a BNP election rally held at the Krishnagobindpur College grounds in Ranihati Union, Chapainawabganj Sadar Upazila. A 12-second video clip (1, 2) of that speech circulated on social media, where she is heard saying, “Tobacco is very harmful to the body, and Islam is very harmful to religion.”
This portion of the speech was circulated with the claim that the BNP leader compared Islam to tobacco, and it was presented as an anti-Islamic and hateful comment.
Verification found her nearly three-minute speech at the same meeting on Independent TV’s YouTube channel, titled “Jamat is as harmful to Islam as tobacco is to the body: BNP leader Papiya.”
Analysis of the full speech reveals that the video circulating on social media is a decontextualized part of Papia’s remarks. In her speech, she did not use this comparison for Islam, but rather to criticize the political party Jamaat-e-Islami.
Criticizing the spread of confusion in the name of religion, she said, “Hell and Heaven are the creations of Allah; we will attain them through our actions, and the Great Creator Rabbul Alamin will account for those actions. When the BNP came to power, Ziaur Rahman wrote Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim in the constitution. He placed trust and faith in Allah. From scholars to all religious thinkers, Imams and Muazzins live in peace in Bangladesh.”
Furthermore, she alleged that Jamaat activists are going house to house, specifically trying to mislead women. In this context, she repeated, “As tobacco is harmful to the body, Jamaat is harmful to Islam.”
That is, while the BNP leader Papia criticized Jamaat-e-Islami as a political party at the meeting, the promotion of a segment of the speech without context resulted in it being presented as an anti-Islamic remark, which is misleading.
Case Study 4
A video (1, 2) of BNP leader Habib Un Nabi Khan Sohail recently circulated on Facebook. He is heard saying, “They will be able to go to the Dhakeshwari Temple to perform prayers, and the priests of Dhakeshwari Temple can come and perform puja at the Baitul Mukarram (national mosque) as needed.”
Verification shows that on January 16, this BNP leader went to pay respects at the graves of Ziaur Rahman and Begum Khaleda Zia in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar. There, he spoke to the media. However, this is not his full speech. The 10-second portion was cut from his more than three-minute speech available on the Facebook page of the daily Samakal.
In the full footage of the speech, he says, “If they get the chance, they will even say such things, they will even give such fatwas that worshipers can go to that Dhakeshwari Temple to pray as needed, and the priests of Dhakeshwari Temple can come to Baitul Mukarram to perform puja as needed. They will give various such absurd fatwas just to come to power. The religious people of this country—the Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Christians of this country—together will, Inshallah, resist these efforts of the religious businessmen through the ballot.”
He was in fact criticizing a political party. But by not broadcasting his full speech and instead isolating a specific segment under a misleading title, the video created confusion.
Case Study 5
A 6-second statement (1, 2) by Mia Mohammad Idris, BNP leader in Nangalkot Upazila, Cumilla district, circulated on social media. In that video, he is heard saying, “Prayer, fasting, Hajj, Zakat—nothing will be needed; you can go to heaven just by voting for the Sheaf of Paddy.”
This segment of the speech was circulated with the claim that he presented voting as a substitute for religious worship and made misleading religious comments.
Verification found a 28-second full video of his speech posted on January 17 on a Facebook page named “News 24 Nangalkot.” In the post, the BNP leader criticized Jamaat, saying, “What is one of their big leaders saying? Prayer, fasting, Hajj, Zakat—nothing will be needed; you can go to heaven just by voting for the Sheaf of Paddy. Oh,you can go to heaven just by voting for the Scales (Daripalla). Say Nauzubillah, everyone. Those who say this are also destined for hell. And if they believe it, they too will be destined for hell.”
Here, although the BNP leader initially said “you can go to heaven just by voting for the Sheaf of Paddy,” he immediately followed it with, “you can go to heaven just by voting for the Scales.” But a fragmented portion of his entire speech was promoted without context to make it appear as though he actually said voting for the BNP would lead to heaven, which is misleading.
Promotion of Fragmented Speeches May Influence Elections
Dr. Sumon Rahman, Professor of the Department of Media Studies and Journalism at the University of Liberal Arts, believes that spreading such videos before an election not only damages the image of the candidates but also deceives voters. He said, “Voting independently is the right of a voter. I will vote after being well-informed. When you give me wrong information, I perceive a candidate as bad based on that. This then influences my vote.”
Claiming that the act was done deliberately, S. A. Jinnah Kabir, the BNP-nominated candidate for Manikganj-1 and victim of the propaganda, said, “My speech was seven and a half minutes. They published only a few seconds of the speech. Promoting a distorted speech deliberately is certainly against the law. For that reason, I have taken legal action; I have filed a case and a GD (General Diary).” He added, “They did this deliberately to divert my votes from the community.”
“This spreads not just before elections, but all the time. We call this decontextualization. It is a major technique for spreading misinformation and disinformation. That is, the statement being made, quoted, or claimed is true, but it was actually said in a different context and in a different way. When it is cut, its context changes, and the meaning changes,” Dr. Sumon Rahman said.
Stating that propaganda warfare is currently taking place, he said, “During election time, every speech and every movement at candidates’ rallies is being observed and recorded. A significant amount of investment is being made in election-time campaigning. Since the election is a few days away, campaigners are trying to humiliate opponents by any means. Propaganda warfare is ongoing. Misinformation has become part of this propaganda. Misinformation enters the regular information ecosystem, and now there is propaganda. The very task of propaganda is to defeat the rival.”
Regarding decontextualization, he mentioned that efforts are often made to exploit the emotions of the general public. He said, “The biggest tool for playing with the sentiment of the general public in Bangladesh is religion. That is, if it can be proven that someone has attacked religion, it becomes a major incident. And religion is a very common discourse for us. For that reason, we speak a lot about religion. It’s not just religious parties that do it. Candidates and rivals all bring up religion in various ways. If these things can be promoted, it becomes very easy to manipulate public sentiment.”
