AI-generated image claims Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam fled Bangladesh
Artificial intelligence-generated images have been circulating on Facebook, claiming that the chief adviser’s press secretary, Shafiqul Alam, left the country after the February 12 national election.
Two photos that appear to show him inside the Dhaka International Airport were posted by a Facebook page named Cumilla District Awami League. The post claimed he would leave Dhaka on a Malaysian Airlines flight.
The page shared the post to the public group Sajeeb Wazed Joy, which has been shared more than 40 times. In the comments, Facebook users accused the interim government’s advisers of corruption, without providing evidence. One user urged “every patriot” to “stop the advisers from leaving,” adding that they must be held accountable for their “corruption and destruction” of the country over the last 17 months.
Keyframe searches reveal the circulating images closely match a widely used photo of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (1, 2). The scene inside the airport, the people, and their attire are similar to a photo published on November 18, 2024. However, Alam does not appear in the original image.
Visual inconsistencies in the circulating images suggested digital manipulation. Dismislab ran them through multiple AI-detection tools. Gemini’s tool ‘SynthID’ indicated that parts or all of the photos were created or edited with Google’s AI. Other checks using Hive Moderation and Deepfake-O-Meter also found the images were likely AI-generated.
Therefore, there is no evidence that Alam attempted to leave Bangladesh. The viral images purporting to show him at the airport were created using artificial intelligence.
