Fact Check: Misinformation Spreads About ‘Save Aravalli’ Protests and Bangladesh Unrest

Digital misinformation continues to fuel real-world tensions across South Asia, with fabricated content about Bangladesh’s civil unrest and environmental protests in India gaining significant traction online this week, according to fact-checking reports.

In Bangladesh, where political tensions remain high following recent upheaval, multiple falsified videos and images have circulated claiming Indian involvement in the killing of student leader Sharif Osman Hadi. The student’s death became a flashpoint for demonstrations, with misinformation apparently designed to inflame cross-border tensions.

One particularly sophisticated piece of misinformation involved an AI-manipulated video purporting to show prominent Indian journalist Palki Sharma reporting on India’s alleged role in Hadi’s death. Fact-checkers determined the video had been digitally altered to create a completely fabricated news segment, raising concerns about the increasing sophistication of AI-generated misinformation.

In a similar vein, a doctored video claiming to be from international news outlet France 24 also falsely suggested Indian involvement in the Bangladeshi student leader’s killing. The fabricated report was designed to appear as legitimate international news coverage, potentially giving it greater credibility among viewers.

The religious tensions that have periodically flared in Bangladesh were further exploited through a misleading video that claimed to show Bangladeshi police handing over Dipu Chandra Das, a Hindu factory worker, to a mob that later lynched him. Fact-checkers revealed the footage was repurposed from an unrelated incident, highlighting how real incidents of communal violence can be manipulated to exacerbate religious divides.

Meanwhile, in India, misinformation surrounding environmental activism has gained traction. Several videos allegedly showing massive “Save Aravalli” protests in Rajasthan against the Supreme Court’s revised definition of the Aravalli Hills were found to contain older, unrelated footage. The Aravalli range, one of the oldest mountain systems in India, has been at the center of environmental concerns regarding mining and development activities.

The Supreme Court’s recent decision on redefining the boundaries of the protected hills has triggered legitimate environmental concerns among activists, but the spread of false videos undermines authentic discourse on conservation issues. Environmental experts have long warned about the ecological importance of the Aravalli range, which serves as a crucial barrier against desertification in northwest India.

In a separate incident highlighting the international scope of digital misinformation, an AI-generated image circulated showing an alleged Indian Defence Attaché in the Philippines, Captain Kothari, with Naveed Akram, identified as one of the attackers in the Bondi Beach incident in Australia. The completely fabricated image demonstrates how international security concerns can be exploited to create divisive content.

These incidents collectively underscore the evolving nature of misinformation, with artificial intelligence technologies now enabling more sophisticated and convincing fake content. Social media platforms continue to struggle with the rapid identification and removal of such material before it reaches large audiences.

Media literacy experts point to these cases as evidence of the growing need for digital verification skills among the general public. The targeted nature of the false information—often designed to exploit existing political, religious, or environmental tensions—makes it particularly effective at mobilizing emotions and potentially inciting real-world actions based on fabricated premises.

As fact-checking organizations work to combat these trends, they face increasing challenges from both the volume of misinformation and its technical sophistication, highlighting the ongoing struggle to maintain information integrity in an increasingly complex digital landscape.