Rickshaw pullers chanted against, not for, Sheikh Hasina
A video has circulated on social media platform Facebook claiming that rickshaw pullers had mobilized in support of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina. However, Dismislab found that the footage was recorded on August 3, 2024. On that day, rickshaw pullers and people from various professions gathered in front of the Central Shaheed Minar (National Martyrs’ Monument) in Dhaka and chanted slogans in support of the anti-government movement while demanding accountability from Sheikh Hasina.
On June 12, a Facebook page posted an 11-second video with the caption, “Rickshaw worker brothers have risen for honorable prime minister and People’s Leader Sheikh Hasina. We request everyone’s support for them.” In the video, the rickshaw pullers are heard chanting several slogans. The first slogan says, “They have risen, they have risen, the rickshaw pullers have risen.”
However, the remaining slogans are inconsistent with the post’s claim, “Why were my brothers shot in the chest? Sheikh Hasina, answer us,” and “Why were my sisters shot in the chest? Sheikh Hasina, answer us.” As of the publication of this report, the video had been viewed more than 135,000 times and shared more than 2,000 times. In the comments, one user wrote, “This is how the movement of all working people across Bangladesh will gradually begin. Joy Bangla, Joy Bangabandhu.”
On July 11, the same video was posted from a personal Facebook profile with the caption, “Rickshaw worker brothers have risen for the honorable prime minister. Inshallah, all 64 districts will rise. Sheikh Hasina has nothing to fear. We have not left the streets. Sheikh Hasina will return, Bangladesh will smile. Joy Bangla, Joy Bangabandhu.” As of the publication of this report, the video had been viewed nearly 4,000 times and shared nearly 100 times.
As part of its investigation, Dismislab extracted keyframes from the video and conducted a reverse image search. It found the same video on a personal Facebook account. The video, published on August 3, 2024, matches the circulating footage exactly. In that original video, no slogans in support of Sheikh Hasina can be heard.
Further investigation led to a video published on the Deepto News YouTube channel on August 3, 2024, titled “Shaheed Minar Grounds Echo With Rickshaw Pullers’ Slogans.” The clothing of the rickshaw pullers and other visual details in that footage match those in the circulating video.
A search using relevant keywords found news reports about the incident published by multiple media outlets (1,2,3, 4). According to those reports, on August 3, 2024, crowds gathered at Dhaka’s Central Shaheed Minar during demonstrations organized by the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement.
A report by Prothom Alo stated, “Several rickshaw pullers were stationed beside the Shaheed Minar with their rickshaws. Sitting on their own rickshaws, they chanted various slogans.” A report by Jago News said, “In solidarity with the ongoing movement in the Shaheed Minar area, rickshaw pullers stopped their rickshaws and joined the procession. During this time, they chanted ‘fake, fake’ slogans directed at the government, the Awami League, the Chhatra League, and the police.”
In other words, the video circulated with the claim that rickshaw pullers were chanting slogans in support of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina is misleading. It actually shows rickshaw pullers chanting anti-government slogans in front of the Shaheed Minar during the 2024 mass uprising.
