Old TV report shared to falsely claim election-time internet shutdown in Bangladesh
Some Facebook posts have falsely claimed that internet services will be shut down for two days during the country’s national election. The claim is based on an old news clip from Independent Television that has been taken out of context. A Dismislab fact-check found that the news clip covered the partial shutdown of internet connectivity during submarine cable upgrade work in 2023.
A video was posted from an individual Facebook profile with the caption, “Internet services will be shut down on election day and the day before.” In the 18-second clip, a news presenter is heard saying that internet connectivity would be partially suspended for 20 hours over two days.
In the video, the on-screen news headline reads, “Submarine Cable Upgrade” and “Internet services will be shut down for 20 hours.” The video was later posted from another Facebook page with the same claim.
A reverse image search using the video’s keyframes led to the original clip posted on Independent Television’s verified YouTube channel on October 30, 2023. Its description clarified that the internet connection would be partially disrupted for 20 hours over two days for the country’s first submarine cable upgradation work.
Parts of this 1:13 minute clip have been used to spread the false claim on Facebook.
Multiple media outlets had reported (1, 2, 3) on the upgrade work. The Daily Star’s report on October 29, 2023, was titled, “Internet to face partial disruption on Oct 31, Nov 2.” It said: “Internet services will face partial disruption in the country for about 20 hours on October 31 and November 2 as the country’s first submarine cable will remain partially disconnected for its upgradation. The circuits through the South East Asia-Middle East-Western Europe 4 (SEA-ME-WE 4) submarine cable installed in Cox’s Bazar will remain partially disconnected for 10 hours from 2 am to 12 pm on October 31 and for another 10 hours from 2 am to 12 pm on November 2.”
Therefore, it is clear that the old video clip has been misleadingly used to suggest a two-day internet shutdown linked to the upcoming elections.
Disclaimer: The original version of this fact-check report was published in Bengali on Dismislab’s Bengali website on February 10, 2026. The English translation was completed later; however, to maintain time accuracy and avoid any potential misinterpretation, the English version has been published with the original publication date.
