Digital Campaign Targets Bangladesh Archivists Documenting 2024 Uprising

A systematic digital campaign targeting community archivists in Bangladesh has successfully exploited weaknesses in Meta’s copyright enforcement mechanisms, removing crucial documentation of the July 2024 Student-People’s Mass Uprising from Facebook.

These attacks have primarily targeted Facebook pages hosting documentation of the movement, including evidence of human rights violations that is currently being used in proceedings at the Bangladesh International Crimes Tribunal. Despite repeated appeals from affected archivists, Meta’s responses have been limited and largely ineffective.

“For many young, self-organized communities in Bangladesh — often operating without formal training, technical capacity, or institutional funding — Facebook has become the default infrastructure for documentation and outreach,” explained Saleh Mahmud Rayhan, co-founder of the July Revolutionary Alliance (JRA), which uses Facebook as its primary platform to preserve and share evidence of human rights violations.

The coordinated attacks follow a consistent pattern: fabricated copyright claims submitted through fake email identities prompt Meta to remove videos and images without adequate verification. Once content is flagged, Meta typically removes it promptly, leaving page administrators insufficient time to respond or implement protective measures.

On February 15, 2026, Meta suspended JRA’s main Facebook page, which had approximately 547,000 followers, citing multiple copyright violations. However, the materials shared were user-generated and distributed for non-commercial, public interest purposes. While JRA does not claim ownership of all content, evidence suggests those submitting copyright complaints were not legitimate rights holders either.

A similar pattern affected The Red July, another community archivist group formed by survivors of the uprising. According to administrator Sajib Hossain, the group lost two Facebook pages with a combined following of more than 425,000 after receiving between eight and ten simultaneous copyright strikes.

“These materials have contributed to broader accountability efforts, including ongoing proceedings at the International Crimes Tribunal examining allegations of crimes against humanity, including murder and enforced disappearance, linked to the July 2024 protests,” Hossain noted.

Investigation findings indicate these do not appear to be legitimate copyright disputes. Instead, individuals create fake email accounts to submit third-party complaints, which Meta accepts without sufficient verification. Both organizations report receiving explicit threats from cyber groups aligned with political actors connected to ongoing trials for crimes against humanity.

A Facebook page named “Network-71” publicly declared its intention to remove content from The Red July. Similarly, accounts using the names “Mahir Chowdhury” and “Nadim Chowdhury” issued public threats to take down posts related to the uprising. Shortly after such warnings, waves of false copyright claims targeted the same content.

“These removals resulted in the loss of critical visual evidence documenting human rights violations during the uprising,” Rayhan emphasized, noting that individuals whose names were used in complaints later confirmed they had not submitted any claims, indicating identity misuse through fabricated email accounts.

The use of copyright claims to suppress political expression is not new in Bangladesh. In 2022, independent news site Netra News reported that groups linked to the then-Awami League-led government were involved in hacking critics’ Facebook accounts. Around the same period, separate reporting documented how a hacker group took down Amar Desh Online, a media outlet critical of the government, through false copyright claims.

Recent incidents suggest similar tactics are now targeting human rights groups, investigative journalists, and fact-checking initiatives. The Dissent, a Bangladesh-based investigative platform, had several reports removed from Facebook after being flagged for alleged copyright violations, despite the content being originally produced by their own reporters.

Qadaruddin Shishir, The Dissent’s editor, stated that these complaints originated from unverifiable email addresses but were nonetheless accepted by Meta without meaningful scrutiny.

These tactics have affected a broad spectrum of voices, including the former interim government’s official advisory pages, the social media accounts of the Head of Government, and memorial tributes to slain activist Osman Hadi.

Groups identifying themselves as “Crack Platoon, Bangladesh Cyber Force,” “Dark Cyber Gang,” and “Qawmi Cyber Expert Team” have publicly claimed responsibility for these takedowns, sharing evidence of their actions online.

These incidents highlight significant weaknesses in Meta’s copyright enforcement processes. The lack of effective verification allows coordinated actors to misuse reporting systems, affecting the ability to document events, share information, and preserve records relevant to accountability processes.

Without stronger safeguards — including improved verification, greater transparency in decision-making, and accessible appeal mechanisms — these practices are likely to continue, with broader implications for digital rights and public-interest documentation in Bangladesh.