Bangladesh’s New Democracy Under Threat From Flood of Misinformation

A secular student-led mass uprising overthrew the dictatorship of India-backed Sheikh Hasina on August 5. Hasina had ruled with an iron fist for over 15 years; her ouster has been hailed as Bangladesh’s Second Independence. On August 8 a new, diverse, and progressive interim government, headed by Nobel Laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus, was inaugurated. 

As the interim government and the nation attempts to rebuild and renew, it is already facing significant threats. A judicial coup attempt, orchestrated by loyalists of Hasina’s party Awami League, was thwarted by students on August 10. Rumors are flying of another coup allegedly planned for August 15 in an attempt to regain power. 

However, another significant threat comes from pervasive disinformation and propaganda that attempts to destabilize Bangladesh. This has also played a central role in continued efforts to discredit Bangladesh’s new interim government. This propaganda, pervasive and multipronged, has spread across social media platforms since Hasina fled. The false narratives have been so widespread that international media, pundits, intellectuals, influencers, and the general public have unwittingly propagated them.

One of the primary focuses of this campaign has been misleading and exaggerated claims of widespread persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh. While there have been tragic incidents of attacks against Hindus, many of those targeted were affiliated with Hasina’s now-disgraced Awami League party, suggesting a political, not communal, motive. Specific instances of supposed attacks on Hindu homes and temples have been debunked by reputable news sources. 

The misinformation campaign delegitimizes the actual concerns that minorities in Bangladesh have about vandalism, looting, or attacks. Hindu leaders in Bangladesh themselves have issued statements to counter false narratives and document ground realities. This contrasts with the majority of the specific instances being cited on social media, which have proven false. 

Considerable factchecking and debunking is already underway on the voluminous number of made-up cases, including by individuals whose photos or videos are being misattributed. In one case, video footage purporting to show Hindus being attacked by a “jihadi” mob actually was taken during an attack on student protesters by Awami League supporters. 

The interim government has denounced any and all violence, and student protesters have taken it upon themselves to help guard Hindu temples and neighborhoods. Civilians from across across backgrounds have held solidarity rallies to reaffirm the spirit of the revolution and commitment to a secular Bangladesh.

Another element of the misinformation campaign involves stoking fears regarding an alleged Islamist takeover or a foreign nation’s involvement. These claims, too, are largely unsubstantiated and have been debunked. For example, Indian media reported that Bangladesh had lifted bans on terrorist organizations, which Bangladesh’s Fact Watch fact-checking center confirmed was untrue.

The extensive propaganda has stoked fear, incited hysteria, and caused significant distraction and disruption within Bangladesh. The two main sources of this misinformation campaign are global Hindutva forces linked to India, and Awami League loyalists both outside and inside Bangladesh.

First, groups and accounts associated with India’s Hindutva regime have been actively spreading anti-Bangladesh sentiments both in India and globally. This is widely believed to be a response to the fall of the Hasina government in Bangladesh, which was strongly backed by New Delhi. There is much at stake for India: the potential loss of access to Bangladesh’s resources, profits from industries and Indian citizens based in Bangladesh, the usage of transportation networks to reach India’s northeastern states, and security assistance targeting militant groups active in India’s Northeast.

Furthermore, this misinformation serves to deflect attention away from India’s widely documented record of violence against ethnic minorities and Muslims – topics that many Indians are unwilling to confront – while stoking Hindutva sentiments within India by portraying Hindus abroad as under siege. Together, the motivations appear to be economic, geopolitical, and ideological. 

A leaked document titled the “Bangladesh Hindu Toolkit” (archived here) revealed the extent of one of many propaganda efforts. The toolkit includes detailed instructions on messaging, political organizing, narrative-building, and imagery, aimed at promoting the false narrative of a “Hindu genocide” in Bangladesh. These campaigns find a receptive audience, as the World Economic Forum rated misinformation and disinformation as the number one risk facing India.  

Such efforts to generate and disseminate spurious claims, doctored images/videos, and exaggerations have significantly distorted the global understanding of the situation in Bangladesh. The ongoing global media coverage repeating misinformation, various rallies held based on the misinformation, meetings by Hindutva groups with politicians across countries to sway opinions, and discussion within the Indian Parliament – all these developments have further entrenched and fueled the false narratives.

Second, this campaign is occurring in collusion with the Awami League, which has been actively engaging in violence within Bangladesh, fostering discontent, and supporting the Hindutva narrative. In the immediate power vacuum that followed August 5, there were retaliatory and opportunist attacks against Awami League loyalists and police, driven by preexisting social or political tensions. These incidents were not communal violence, contrary to claims emanating across social media and press, which misleadingly stated that only Hindus were being targeted in the wake of the fall of the Awami League.

The Awami League’s role in creating more chaos is well-known. Leaked WhatsApp messages between members of the Awami League’s violent student wing, the Chhatra League, revealed their plans to carry out sporadic attacks on Hindu temples in false flag operations, with the intention of inflaming sectarian narratives. They have also allegedly participated in protests posing as victims of the violence they themselves perpetuated. 

Simultaneously, Hasina and her son, Sajeeb Wazed Joy, have been on a media blitz in India, giving inflammatory and contradictory interviews. There are concerns what will transpire given deeply embedded loyalists to the former dictator across sectors.

The potential implications for Bangladesh as it seeks to rebuild are profound. The new democracy currently faces substantial challenges. The distorted and pervasive propaganda is adding to the difficult task ahead and jeopardizes the safeguarding of Bangladesh’s democracy.  The commitment to ensuring a society that is free and safe for all Bangladeshis of all backgrounds has been repeatedly emphasized by Dr. Yunus, members of the interim government, and the public. Bangladesh thus must remain vigilant against those intent on destabilizing the country for their own (geo)political, economic, or ideological reasons.