Fake Report under Washington Post name claims dismissal of Bangladeshi military officials
Recently, a report allegedly by ‘The Washington Post’ has circulated on social media platform X (formerly Twitter). Shared as an image, the report claims that an interim government led by Dr. Yunus has decided to dismiss 67 senior military officials, including the current army chief. It also states that an additional 3,872 officials at various levels have been confirmed for dismissal. However, ‘The Washington Post’ has confirmed to Dismislab that the report is not theirs.
An X account posted an image with the headline, “INTERIM GOVERNMENT LED BY DR. YUNUS FINALIZES DISMISSAL OF SENIOR ARMY OFFICERS AND THOUSANDS OF MILITARY PERSONNEL.” The caption further alleged, “𝐓𝐈𝐓𝐋𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍: BIDEN GOVT FINALISES DISMISSAL OF PATRIOTIC SENIOR ARMY OFFICERS & THOUSANDS OF MILITARY PERSONNEL IN BANGLADESH.” The report further claims that the interim government is allegedly planning to organize protests involving student groups with supposed links to militant activities, aiming to pressure President Shahabuddin into resigning at any cost. It also cites “reliable sources” stating that the interim government is reportedly “uncomfortable” because Sheikh Hasina, despite being physically absent, remains the legitimate Prime Minister under Bangladesh’s constitution, creating a challenging situation for the interim leadership. The report also claims that Dr. Muhammad Yunus has finalized an extensive list to dismiss 67 senior army officers, including the current army chief, General Wagar, as well as 3,872 other military personnel. The report describes “this bold move” is seen “as a major restructuring effort within the armed forces during the country’s sensitive political transition.”
Dismislab investigated ‘The Washington Post’s website using keywords from the report but found no such publication. The viral report lists the author as Jackie Alemany, but ‘The Washington Post’ has no record of anyone by this name; however, a similar name, Jacqueline Alemany, is listed as a reporter. Though, no byline report of her on Bangladesh-related news could be found in ‘The Washington Post’.
The false report is dated October 21, 2024, coinciding with a real article by Jacqueline Alemany in ‘The Washington Post’ titled, “Bipartisan task force slams beleaguered Secret Service in new report,” which contains no reference to Bangladesh. To verify further, Dismislab contacted Jacqueline Alemany, upon receiving a response from ‘The Washington Post’s public relations lead, Jenna Lief. She directed Dismislab to a post from ‘The Washington Post PR’s official Twitter handle, confirming that the circulated image was fake.
The earliest source of the fake report image appears to be an X account named Nepal Correspondence, which posted it on October 23 at 11:43 AM. The image was later posted on Facebook by an account named Dr-Rabbi Alam on October 24. To investigate the account, Dismislab contacted Deepak Adhikari, editor of Nepal’s fact-checking organization Nepal Check. Adhikari stated, “I have followed this handle on Twitter. Though it uses Nepal in it’s name, it has nothing to do with the country or its interest. It spreads propaganda and conspiracy theories about South Asian countries.”
