How disinformation stoked fear, panic and confusion during Bangladesh’s student-led revolution
In July 2024, a student-led movement in Bangladesh, initially focused on reforming the civil service quota system, rapidly escalated into a nationwide revolt that ultimately led to the ousting of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her government. Over four weeks, from July 15 to August 15, the country was engulfed in a whirlwind of protests, violence, and an unprecedented parallel surge of disinformation, sowing fear, panic, and confusion.
During the first half of 2024, eight fact-checking organizations in Bangladesh typically published around 233 fact-check reports each month. However, between July 15 and August 15, this number surged to 446, nearly doubling the usual output, even though a week-long internet shutdown during that period severely hampered the ability to publish reports from within the country. Despite this increase, the number of fact-checks conducted during these four weeks only scratches the surface, as each night brought a relentless wave of new rumors and disinformation, much of which remained unchecked and unverifiable.
As social media became another battlefield for spreading rumors and disinformation, this article traces how these falsehoods exacerbated the uncertainty and anxiety gripping Bangladesh during one of its most defining moments in history.
The backdrop
The seeds of the 2024 revolution were planted in 2018, when a major movement demanding reforms to Bangladesh’s civil service quota system first emerged. Amid intense protests, then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina responded by announcing the complete abolition of the quota system. An official notification confirming the abolition followed in October that year. However, in June 2024, the High Court declared the notification illegal, effectively reinstating the quota system. Protests erupted the next day, with students from various educational institutions demanding the annulment of the ruling by June 30. When the deadline passed, students returned to the streets on July 1, reigniting demonstrations. While these protests, strikes, and blockades were largely peaceful until July 10, they turned violent on July 11, following clashes at Comilla University that left 20 people injured. From then on, misinformation, including false reports of student deaths, began to spread like wildfire.
The protests quickly escalated after the student wing of the then-ruling Awami League attacked protesters across several universities. By July 16, the police had resorted to lethal force, leading to deadly clashes nationwide. As the conflict intensified, the government imposed a full-scale internet blackout on the evening of July 18, deployed the army, and imposed a curfew on July 20. Although a new notification reforming the quota system was issued on July 23, by that time, more than 200 people had been killed, and the movement had evolved into a revolution. Following days of intense protests and clashes, and with hundreds more lives lost, Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled the country on August 5. An interim government, led by Dr. Muhammad Yunus, was formed on August 8.
Fueling panic over casualties
The first week of intense protests and clashes was marked by disinformation narratives, particularly related to false death claims from both sides. On July 15, following a clash between student protesters and members of the Bangladesh Student League (BSL), the student wing of the ruling party, posts on Facebook falsely claimed that a movement coordinator named Ibrahim Nirav had been killed. Similarly, false claims circulated on Facebook that five members of the ruling party’s student wing had been killed, further fueling confusion and panic.
In reality, the first confirmed death in the movement occurred on July 16, when Abu Sayed, a key coordinator of the quota movement at Begum Rokeya University, was shot dead by police in Rangpur. Shortly afterward, false reports of the death of a schoolgirl and claims that 27 students had been raped in Rangpur began circulating on social media.
On July 17, false claims emerged that five or 15 people had died, citing non-existent media reports. The internet shutdown on July 18, and the partial restoration on July 24, left social media platforms blocked, allowing false narratives to take root. For instance, one post falsely claimed that 100 bodies had been recovered from Hatirjheel, attributing the report to Kalbela, though no such report existed. Similarly, exaggerated claims of death tolls, falsely attributed to Prothom Alo, suggested up to 1,700 deaths.
Amid the blackout, rumors also spread about the deaths of key political figures, including BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and the then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. After the government fell on August 5, posts falsely claimed that mass graves had been discovered at the Parliament grounds and Ganabhaban, with photos that were later proven unrelated.
Misleading the protest and protesters
Another disinformation tactic during this period involved repurposing old photos and videos to falsely depict events, gatherings, or rallies. Starting on July 15, images from past protests were circulated as if they were current, such as a 2013 Shahbagh movement photo falsely claimed to be from recent gatherings at Dhaka University and Jahangirnagar University. On July 17, a candle march by students in Uttara was misrepresented as a march by Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing, Islami Chhatra Shibir at Dhaka University.
After the internet blackout from July 18 to 23, old images resurfaced, misleading people into believing they were recent. For instance, a July 16 gathering in Mirpur was falsely claimed to have occurred on July 29, causing some to mistakenly join what they thought was a current protest, only to face police harassment. Conversely, on July 29, despite large student gatherings in Rajshahi and Thakurgaon, some government-supporter pages falsely claimed no such events had taken place, with one of these false claims even shared from the verified Facebook page of the Awami League.
On August 1, a video from Nairobi, Kenya, was falsely presented as a march towards the Prime Minister’s residence, Ganabhaban. Similarly, on August 3, old videos of a BSL procession and a mourning procession from Iraq were circulated with new audio to misrepresent them as recent Awami League rallies.
Smearing protesters with false affiliations
Supporters of the government spread various false accusations that Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing, Islami Chhatra Shibir, were behind the student movement in an attempt to delegitimize the protests by associating them with right-wing religious groups.
On July 30, Supreme Court lawyer Manjur Al Matin filed a writ petition in the High Court seeking a directive to stop the police from shooting at students. On that day, Manjur’s statement became widely discussed across the country. Following this, various false claims began circulating against the lawyer, alleging that he had past ties with Shibir or that his family had ties with Jamaat leaders. Fact-checking revealed that none of these claims were true.
Following the death of teenager Farhan Faiyaaz on July 18, rumors falsely claimed a Shibir leader was responsible, citing a non-existent report. A rally photo from Comilla University was also misused to wrongly label students as Shibir members.
Amid the clashes, videos showing individuals firing guns were falsely attributed to Jamaat-Shibir activists, but fact-checks revealed these were old or involved ruling party-affiliated individuals. A video of an arms seizure in Teknaf was similarly misused to accuse Shibir of supplying weapons to protesters.
In response, protesters reportedly launched the “chalaiden” campaign, a term meaning “spread it online” in Bangla, after a BSL member allegedly used it to promote a false claim. The phrase became a way for protesters to mock and expose disinformation.
Distorting reality to sow confusion
Fake press releases and announcements became a major tool of disinformation to sow confusion. On August 3, protesters demanded the government’s resignation and announced a civil disobedience movement. However, false press releases spread on Facebook claimed that the protesters had suspended their programs for seven days or even three months, none of which were true. Before the planned long march towards Dhaka on August 5, false announcements emerged, alleging that protesters had agreed to negotiate with the government and halted their activities.
On August 4, the Awami League announced its own gathering, and soon after, fake press releases falsely claiming that the Awami League and its student wing, the BSL, had suspended their programs circulated on social media platforms.
Interestingly, government-supporters circulated photo cards featuring prominent personalities, suggesting that these figures supported the quota reform but opposed the government’s resignation. In response, protesters mockingly created humorous photo cards with celebrities like Imran Hashmi, Donald Trump, and Sunny Leone, supposedly supporting that pro-government quote, effectively undermining the original misinformation.
Inventing foreign threats to influence perception
False claims about foreign influence, particularly from India, Pakistan, and the U.S., were widely circulated throughout the month, further deepening existing divisions. On July 21, after Sheikh Hasina met with her security advisor and senior military figures, Facebook posts falsely claimed one attendee was an Indian intelligence officer, though fact-checking revealed he was actually her advisor, Major General (retd) Tarique Ahmed Siddique. Around the same time, posts falsely claimed the government sought Indian military help to quell the protest, using an old video from 2022.
After the government’s overthrow on August 5, posts falsely claimed Indian soldiers were fleeing Bangladesh, using videos of the Armed Police Battalion and Crisis Response Team members. Even a 2021 photo of an Indian Air Force plane carrying oxygen tankers during the COVID-19 pandemic, was misused to suggest it was stationed in Dhaka. Wild rumors included claims that Sylhet police spoke Hindi while shooting protesters and that Indian soldiers were arriving by train.
On August 3, a fake statement, purportedly from the Pakistani embassy, claimed that Pakistan was ready to support the protesters. Awami League supporters quickly shared the statement to suggest foreign interference in the movement. The false statement was even shared on the verified Facebook page of BSL’s general secretary, Tanvir Hasan Saikat, adding further legitimacy to the disinformation.
On August 11, six days after Sheikh Hasina fled to India, a letter surfaced in several Indian media outlets, including The Print, NDTV, and Hindustan Times, alleging she blamed the U.S. for her ouster, though the reports lacked credible sources. The story spread to nearly a dozen Bangladeshi outlets. Her son, Sajeeb Wazed, later refuted the letter’s authenticity, leading to retractions from The Print and other outlets.
Staging global support to deceive
Similarly, fake news aimed at creating a false sense of international solidarity was rampant. On July 19, when the government imposed a nationwide curfew and deployed the army, some army vehicles bearing United Nations logos led to false claims on Facebook that the UN had removed the Bangladesh Army from peacekeeping missions. Simultaneously, another rumor attributed to UNESCO claimed that the government had 72 hours to restore order or face expulsion, which UNESCO never stated.
On July 28, various posts circulated, claiming that the Italian Ambassador to Bangladesh, Antonio Alessandro, had condemned the government’s role in suppressing the protests. Verification revealed that this false information had originated from a fake X account.
False claims circulated on Facebook, alleging that the Paris Olympics featured images of Bangladesh’s protesting students during the opening ceremony, and that Indian YouTuber Dhruv Rathee was supporting the movement. However, fact-checks revealed that no such event occurred, and the account cited for Rathee’s support was actually a parody.
Spreading false escape narratives
Before Sheikh Hasina’s resignation, both sides—supporters of the government and the protesters—circulated false claims on social media about political leaders and protest coordinators fleeing the country or leaving Dhaka. These rumors were frequently supported by fabricated social media photo cards, lending them an air of credibility.
For instance, some posts falsely claimed that the protest leaders had abandoned the movement and fled, while counter-rumors suggested that prominent Awami League figures, including BSL leaders and Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader, had escaped to neighboring countries like India and Singapore.
On July 21, during the internet blackout in Bangladesh, India Today NE falsely reported that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had fled the country. The news outlet later retracted the report and issued an apology. However, screenshots of the report were used to spread false claims on Facebook about Sheikh Hasina leaving the country. She was scheduled to visit Spain on a state visit on July 21, which was later canceled.
Manufacturing communal tensions online
After the Awami League government fell on August 5 and Sheikh Hasina fled the country, a wave of attacks and arson targeted the homes, businesses, and offices of Awami League leaders and activists, as well as various police stations and outposts. These attacks also extended to the homes, shops, and places of worship of minorities, particularly Hindus, across the country. However, numerous photos and videos circulated on social media such as X (formerly Twitter) were unrelated to these communal attacks, misleadingly connecting them to the ongoing violence.
In some cases, old photos and videos were posted with claims that they showed recent attacks on Hindu homes or temples. In others, photos of deceased Awami League leaders who had fallen victim to mob violence were falsely claimed to be victims of communal attacks. Fact-checking reports have already been published on at least 15 posts (1, 2, 3, 4) containing false claims of communal violence, using old or unrelated photos and videos.
Most of these false claims were spread on X, with many of the accounts responsible for spreading them being operated from India. On August 5 and 6, the West Bengal police posted warnings on Facebook about this issue, stating, “The way the current situation in Bangladesh is being reported by local TV channels is highly communal and inflammatory…” The posts urged people not to believe in rumors and to remain calm.
A night of rumors
On August 3rd, the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement announced a nationwide non-cooperation campaign, demanding the government’s resignation. That night, a torrent of misinformation flooded public discourse—challenging the one-point demand, discrediting the student movement, and attacking its leaders. By the next morning, August 4th, the disinformation had reached a fever pitch, setting the stage for a tense day that culminated in a brutal crackdown. After a meeting of the National Committee on Security Affairs, Sheikh Hasina declared that the protesters were not students and called for resistance against the movement.
According to Kalbela, by the end of the day, at least 106 people had been killed across 19 districts, including the capital. Prothom Alo reported that August 4th saw the highest single-day death toll, with at least 111 fatalities. Rydwanul Islam, a fact-checker for Ajker Patrika, reflected on the intensity of that night, saying, “In my two and a half years of fact-checking, I’ve witnessed significant events, including national elections, but that night was unforgettable. The amount of misinformation, from both sides, was overwhelming. It was truly a ‘Night of Rumors,’ a ‘Lailatul Gujob (rumor).’”
