Times Now falsely presents garment workers’ protest as anti-India rally in Bangladesh
Times Now, an Indian news outlet, recently posted a video on social media as footage of anti-India protests in Bangladesh. However, a Dismislab fact-check found that the video does not show any anti-India protest; it shows a movement by garment workers demanding higher minimum wages.
On November 4, Times Now posted a video on its verified Facebook page post (archive) with a caption that reads, “Anti-India protests and political rhetoric are intensifying in Bangladesh as fresh tensions flare between the two neighbors over issues such as the Ganges water-sharing treaty dispute, a Japan-backed port project and plans for former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s return.”
The same video was also posted from the outlet’s Instagram account on Nov. 3 with the same claim. The caption there adds that protesters chanted anti-India slogans at a rally organized by the National Citizen Party (NCP) on Oct. 30. NCP leader Nahid Islam accused New Delhi of interfering in Bangladesh’s internal affairs.
A reverse image search to trace the source of the video turned up a post on the verified X account of Indian news outlet News18. The post contains several videos, and the third one exactly matches the 12-to-40-second portion of the video posted by Times Now. News18’s caption describes it as footage of the ongoing garment workers’ movement in Bangladesh.
In further verification, Dismislab found an opinion piece published in Bangladeshi daily Prothom Alo. The photo used in the opinion piece, titled “What should the wages of garment workers actually be,” shows several elements that are also visible in the Times Now video. The caption below the photo reads, “Police obstruct garment workers’ movement demanding higher wages.” Prothom Alo is credited as the source of the photo.
Thus, the video does not show any anti-India movement; it shows a scene from the ongoing garment workers’ movement in Bangladesh demanding higher wages.
Garment workers in various industrial areas of the country are protesting to demand a monthly minimum wage of Tk30,000 (approximate 242. Dismislab has already published reports fact-checking multiple pieces of misinformation centering the movement (1, 2).
