Election Misinformation Spreads as Dismislab Identifies False Claims by Political Opponents

Misinformation Fuels Post-Election Tensions in Bangladesh

Violence has erupted across Bangladesh following the February 12 national parliamentary election and referendum, with tensions amplified by a wave of misinformation spreading rapidly through social media channels. While post-election clashes are not uncommon in the South Asian nation, fact-checkers have identified numerous false narratives deliberately crafted to inflame political divisions.

Dismislab, a prominent fact-checking organization, has documented a troubling pattern in the aftermath of the polls. Their analysis reveals that most fabricated claims attempt to portray Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami activists as victims of attacks perpetrated by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). Other misleading content falsely implicates Jamaat as the aggressor in various violent confrontations.

In just the first 48 hours following the election—February 13 and 14—nine fact-checking organizations published at least 13 distinct verifications addressing false claims about post-election violence or protests. The scale of this misinformation campaign suggests a coordinated effort to manipulate public perception of political events.

One particularly widespread piece of misinformation involved a Facebook video allegedly showing homes being set ablaze in Debidwar, Cumilla, because residents had voted for the “Daripalla,” Jamaat’s electoral symbol. Fact-checkers determined this video had actually been circulating for at least a month before the election, rendering the connection to recent polling impossible.

Another video sparked confusion by carrying multiple contradictory claims. Some posts alleged BNP activists had attacked minority community homes in Cumilla following the election, while others claimed houses were vandalized simply because residents had supported Jamaat. Upon investigation, both narratives proved false.

In a striking example of temporal manipulation, a seven-year-old video resurfaced with claims that the BNP’s student wing, Chhatra Dal, was forcibly evicting members of the National Citizen Party (NCP) and Jamaat’s student organization, Islami Chhatra Shibir, from Dhaka University residential halls. The recontextualized footage was designed to suggest ongoing persecution despite having no connection to current events.

The BNP has also been targeted by similar misinformation campaigns. One Facebook video purported to show post-election attacks, with captions accusing “the party that came to power” of assaulting people for voting for opposition candidates. Fact-checkers revealed the footage actually depicted a pre-election clash between BNP and Jamaat supporters, not post-election violence.

In a particularly disturbing instance of false information, social media posts claimed BNP activists had gang-raped a female leader of the NCP—an allegation fact-checkers quickly debunked.

Religious tensions have also been inflamed by misinformation. A video shared on X (formerly Twitter) falsely alleged that Islamist groups were attacking Hindu communities following Jamaat’s electoral defeat. Fact-checkers determined the video was completely unrelated to the 2026 election, instead showing an incident where a man was assaulted for chanting “Joy Bangla” during former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia’s funeral.

The proliferation of such misinformation presents a significant challenge to Bangladesh’s already fragile political stability. With a history of post-election violence, the intentional spreading of false narratives targeting specific political and religious groups risks escalating tensions beyond what genuine political disagreements might naturally produce.

Media literacy experts warn that the speed at which misinformation spreads on platforms like Facebook often outpaces fact-checking efforts, allowing false narratives to take hold before corrections can reach the same audience. This phenomenon is particularly dangerous in politically polarized environments where confirmation bias leads users to accept claims that align with their existing beliefs.

As Bangladesh navigates this volatile post-election period, the battle against misinformation has become nearly as important as addressing genuine incidents of political violence, with the line between truth and fabrication increasingly blurred in the digital information landscape.