Claim that Hasnat Abdullah joined Awami League is false
A video circulating on social media claims that National Citizen Party (NCP) leader Hasnat Abdullah has joined the Awami League. The video shows an event where people around him chant slogans mentioning Sheikh Hasina, and Hasnat Abdullah appears excited. But a fact-check shows that the original video had different slogans and that the claim of him joining the Awami League is not true.
The 13-second video on Facebook shows Hasnat Abdullah, the chief organizer for the southern region of NCP, enthusiastically taking part in an event where slogans in Sheikh Hasina’s name can be heard. The text on the video reads, “Hasnat Abdullah has now joined Awami League.” The video has been viewed more than 250,000 times and shared nearly 1,500 times. The same video with the same claim also spread on TikTok, where it has been shared more than 2,500 times.
A reverse image search of keyframes of the video reveals the real context. Several videos of the event were posted on Facebook and YouTube pages named Comilla Telescope 24 (1, 2, 3, 4) and Debidwar 24TV. Comilla Telescope 24 wrote in its November 8 post, “Mega Final of Abdullahpur Double Honda Cup Football Tournament – Hasnat Abdullah.”
A keyword search and a Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha report show that the video is from the final match of the “Greater Abdullahpur Double Honda Cup Football” tournament. The match was held on November 8 at Haji Amir High School field in Abdullahpur, Debidwar, in memory of the July martyrs.
A YouTube video from Comilla Telescope 24 matches the scenes in the viral clip. The people standing beside Hasnat Abdullah, the colors of their clothing, a man in a white Panjabi and cap in front, and two people filming with phones in the back all match the verified clip. In this YouTube video, Hasnat Abdullah chants “Shapla, Shapla,” and many in the audience repeat it. At the 1:24-minute mark, he is seen holding a flag reading “Vote for Hasnat,” which displays the Shapla symbol.
For further verification, Dismislab contacted Mushfiq Us Salehin, editor of the NCP Media Cell. He said, “This is an absurd and baseless claim. Hasnat Abdullah is serving as the chief organizer of the National Citizen Party (NCP) in the southern region. He has played a key role in demanding that terrorist organization Awami League be tried as a party. There is not even the slightest possibility of such an incident occurring.”
In short, the claim that Hasnat Abdullah joined the Awami League was spread by editing the footage of a football match.
