Man in Janmashtami T-shirt falsely identified as Jamaat supporter

A video of a bearded man wearing a T-shirt of a Janmashtami celebration committee was circulated on Facebook. Posts claimed that he was a supporter of Jamaat-e-Islami. However, Dismislab’s fact-check found the claim false. The man in the video serves as the general secretary of the Kotalipara municipal BNP in Gopalganj.

The video was posted from a Facebook profile on September 6. The description of the eight-second video read, “Jamaat means religious profiteers. Uncle should have had a sandalwood mark on his forehead.” The video shows a bearded man wearing a T-shirt over a panjabi, with the words, “Happy Janmashtami 2026 of Lord Shri Krishna. Janmashtami Celebration Committee, Kotalipara Central Kali and Durga Temple.” His cap bears the words “Colorful Rally.” By the time this report was published, the video had been viewed more than 70,000 times and shared more than 300 times. 

The same video was also posted with the same claim from several Facebook profiles (1, 2, 3).

Dismislab conducted a reverse image search using a keyframe from the video and found a video on a profile named “H M Mehedi Hasanat.” The post, published on September 4, read, “Kotalipara municipal BNP General Secretary Waliur Rahman Howlader preparing to take part in the Janmashtami rally.” The face and clothing of the person in the 17 second video matched those of the person shown in the circulated footage from the beginning of the video.

Using relevant keywords, Dismislab found multiple reports (1, 2). A report published by Jugantor on September 4, 2026, said that the Central Durga and Kali Temple Committee in Kotalipara upazila of Gopalganj had organized a procession to mark Janmashtami. Kotalipara municipal BNP General Secretary Waliur Rahman Howlader attended the opening ceremony of the procession. 

Dismislab conducted a search using relevant keywords to verify the identity of Waliur Rahman Howlader. The search found a report published by Samakal on June 2, 2025. The report, titled “Kotalipara upazila and municipal BNP committees formed,” said that Waliur Rahman Howlader had been elected general secretary of the Kotalipara municipal BNP. The photograph used in the report also matched the facial features of the person in the video circulated on Facebook.

Therefore, the person in the video is not a Jamaat supporter. He is Waliur Rahman Howlader, general secretary of the Kotalipara municipal BNP.