BNP torch procession in Teknaf falsely shared as Awami League’s lockdown preparation
A video spread on Facebook claiming to show preparations were underway for the Awami League’s lockdown program on November 13. However, Dismislab’s fact-check found that the original footage shows BNP supporters in Teknaf holding a torch procession wearing shrouds on November 9, protesting the party’s decision over the nomination of candidates for the upcoming election.
On November 11, a 15-second video was posted from a personal Facebook profile with the caption, “It has started at midnight; preparation for lockdown is going on right now. 13th, Inshallah… Joy Bangla Joy Bangabandhu.” (Text unchanged)
By the time this report was prepared, the video had over 30,000 views and more than 400 shares.
Several other personal Facebook profiles (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7) posted the same video with identical claims. The footage shows a group of people marching at night holding burning torches. In the row of the video, men wearing white clothes chant slogans as they march forward. Some individuals record the scene on their phones. Throughout the video, the audio of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s March 7, 1971, speech is heard.
Fact-checking through reverse image search of keyframes revealed a report on Channel 24’s regional YouTube channel “Chattogram 24.” The video, published on November 9, is titled “BNP leader’s supporters hold a torch procession wearing shrouds demanding cancellation of nomination.” The viral clip matches the segment between 4:11 and 4:24 minutes of the 6:02-minute report.
For further verification, Dismislab searched related keywords and found several news reports (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) covering the same event. According to a report by the daily Samakal, on the evening of November 9, supporters of the district BNP finance secretary, Mohammad Abdullah, organized a torch procession in shrouds in the Cox’s Bazar-4 (Ukhiya–Teknaf) constituency, demanding the BNP change its decision over the nomination of the candidate in that constituency.
Therefore, the video showing BNP leaders and activists in Teknaf protesting over nomination issues on November 9 is now being shared with a false claim that it shows the Awami League’s torch procession preparing for the November 13 lockdown.
Notably, the BNP announced the names of candidates for 237 constituencies on November 4 for the upcoming 13th parliamentary election. In Cox’s Bazar-4, Shahjahan Chowdhury’s name was declared, leading to protests and demonstrations in Teknaf by supporters of Mohammad Abdullah.
