Misinformation Falsely Attributing Religious Statements to Interim Government Advisors

Several false statements, purported to be from various interim government advisors, have recently surfaced on social media, often framed in a religious context. Most of these statements were shared through fake photocards mimicking established media outlets. Dismislab previously published a fact-check report debunking multiple false claims attributed to chief advisor Dr. Muhammad Yunus.

The latest misinformation targets Religious Affairs Advisor Dr. A F M Khalid Hossain. A fake photocard, created using the Daily Ittefaq logo, falsely claimed that the Religious Affairs Advisor said, “As an important person of the state, Dr. Yunus should keep a beard now.” The fake photocard has been widely shared on Facebook  (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6). Dismislab contacted the Religious Affairs Advisor’s personal officer, Shariful Islam, who confirmed the statement is false, clarifying that Dr. Hossain made no such comment.

Dismislab did not find any such report or photocard on the official Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube, or Instagram accounts of Daily Ittefaq. However, a version resembling the fake photocard was discovered. The original news, posted on Daily Ittefaq’s official page on September 11, featured a photocard that stated, “For Durga Puja security, there will be helicopters in the sky and divers in the water: Religious Affairs Advisor.” In the fake photocard, only the text was altered. Daily Ittefaq’s online head, Sharafat Hossain, confirmed the altered photocard did not belong to them.

In August, following the appointment of the interim government, two more instances of disinformation involving Religious Affairs Advisor Dr. A.F.M. Khalid Hossain spread online. After Dr. Hossain stated he would dismantle Hajj-related syndicates, various Facebook users falsely claimed that the advisor had said “the cost of Hajj and Umrah could be reduced to 200,000–250,000 BDT and 50,000–60,000 BDT.” A Rumor Scanner report clarified that neither the government nor the advisor made any such statement.

Another false claim circulated, alleging that Religious Affairs Advisor Dr. A.F.M. Khalid Hossain had called for the shutdown of all pornography websites in Bangladesh. The same false claim was also attributed to Chief Advisor Dr. Muhammad Yunus. A fact-check report confirmed both claims to be untrue.

Other advisors were also targeted with religious disinformation. A fake photocard falsely claimed that Advisor Asif Mahmud said, “The coordinators respect the religious scholars. Without them, the movement would not have succeeded.” A fact-check report by the Bangladeshi verification organization FactWatch confirmed this claim to be false.

Similarly, Syeda Rizwana Hasan, an advisor to the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, and the Ministry of Water Resources, became the subject of disinformation. Several fake photocards falsely claimed that Bangladesh national cricket player Tanzim Sakib had told her to wear hijab. A Rumor Scanner report verified that Tanzim Sakib made no such comment, confirming the photocards were fake. Dismislab also published a fact-check report addressing multiple incidents involving false religiously-themed quotes attributed to Dr. Muhammad Yunus.

To understand why this type of disinformation spreads, Dismislab reached out to Subhasish Das Roy Dip, a fact-checker at FactWatch. He said, “As political participation increases, the amount of disinformation also rises. Religious-themed disinformation has existed before. The current disinformation being spread seems to stem from people’s personal desires—essentially, what people want to see or hear.”

Assistant Professor Md. Saeed Al-Zaman from Jahangirnagar University’s Department of Journalism and Media Studies believes the spread of religious disinformation citing prominent figures could lead to social unrest. He told Dismislab, “This could incite fear, panic, and uncertainty among different communities and groups.” He also expressed concern that the importance of the individuals (whose names are being used to spread misinformation) may diminish as a result.