Dismislab: 43% of social media misinformation is political, primarily aimed at Yunus and Hasina

"Social media platforms saw a significant increase in political and religious disinformation between July and September. Amid political instability during this period, 43% of disinformation was politically focused, mainly targeting interim government chief adviser Dr. Muhammad Yunus and former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

This information was revealed by Dismisslab, a research initiative by Digitally Right, in a report released on Thursday. The report is based on data from eight fact-checking websites in Bangladesh. According to Dismisslab, fact-checkers identified a total of 917 disinformation items between July and September. Of these, 42.9% were political, marking a threefold rise from the previous April-June quarter and double that of January-March. Religious disinformation accounted for 11.5%.

Miraj Ahmed Chowdhury, managing director of Digitally Right, explained to Prothom Alo that the increase in disinformation corresponds with political unrest, as reflected in the report. Although political disinformation declined following January’s national election, it began rising again in June.

For addressing this, Chowdhury suggested countering disinformation with verified information. Mainstream media, trusted by the public, could help combat false narratives and improve digital literacy. Political disinformation predominantly targeted Dr. Yunus and Sheikh Hasina.

Local fact-checkers reviewed 1,345 items from July to September, finding 917 to be false. According to Dismisslab, disinformation spiked in June, briefly slowed during an internet shutdown in July, and peaked in September following the change in government. Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League were linked to 36% of political disinformation, while Dr. Yunus and Students Against Discrimination were tied to 35%. In previous years, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) was a primary target, but its share dropped to 8% in this quarter. Meanwhile, disinformation about Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and its student front, Chhatra Shibir, rose to 11%.

The report categorized disinformation into negative and positive or neutral types. Approximately 49% of disinformation about Sheikh Hasina aimed to glorify her, while 65% related to Dr. Yunus was negative.

Religious Disinformation  
Following the political transition in August, disinformation falsely claimed attacks on minority communities, often using unrelated or outdated visuals. This trend was especially visible on X (formerly Twitter), with many accounts originating from India. Dismisslab noted that false statements on issues such as Hajj and Umrah expenses were spread, often attributed to religious affairs advisers and student leaders."