Flag Fabrication Fiasco: False Claim About Bangladesh’s Emblem Sparks Online Outcry
Sajeeb Wazed Joy, son of Bangladesh’s deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, on June 12 shared a link to an article on his X handle with the caption: "The #Yunus #dictatorship plans to change the #Bangladesh flag to an #Islamic one."
The article he cited, titled “Bangladesh Considers Adding Islamic Crescent to Its Flag, Mirroring Pakistan and Turkey”, was published on June 6 on Medium, written by an individual using the name Robert Brown. According to the opening paragraph of the article, “Bangladesh’s interim government has sparked nationwide debate by proposing a historic change to the national flag. Authorities are considering adding an Islamic crescent to the iconic green-and-red flag, a move that would visually align it with Muslim-majority countries such as Pakistan and Turkey. This potential redesign is not merely an aesthetic decision but reflects a deeper reevaluation of how Bangladesh defines its identity more than fifty years after independence.”
However, as of June 14, 2025, there has been no such news from any credible Bangladeshi or international media outlet confirming any proposal or discussion by the current government to alter the national flag. Therefore, the claim that a governmental decision has sparked national debate appears to be entirely fabricated.
Moreover, the article lacks any verifiable source or citation to support its claims. Upon investigation by The Dissent, it was found that the original source of the falsehood was a speculative post made by a Pakistan-aligned X account named @SouthAsiaIndex on June 4. This account posted an imaginary redesign of the Bangladeshi flag, captioned: "Suggested redesign of Bangladesh’s flag." The post gave no indication of who supposedly proposed the redesign.
Link to the post: https://x.com/SouthAsiaIndex/status/1930469725592596917
Archived version: https://archive.ph/rdwzl
Shortly after, another X account, @Defence_Index, reposted the same speculative image—still watermarked with the @SouthAsiaIndex logo—alongside Bangladesh’s current national flag. It claimed: "????BREAKING: Bangladesh is reportedly considering adding an Islamic crescent????to its national flag, following in the footsteps of countries like Pakistan and Turkey. This would mark a significant symbolic change, introducing a religious credential to the flag’s design."
Link to the post: https://x.com/Defence_Index/status/1930488297341554843
Archived version: https://archive.ph/0fSsk
It is evident that the "breaking" report by @Defence_Index was solely based on the fictional graphic from @SouthAsiaIndex. Two days later, on June 6, the same image was used—without any source citation—by Robert Brown in his Medium article, which falsely claimed that the government’s decision had triggered a “nationwide debate.”
As for the author Robert Brown, evidence suggests he is not a verifiable political analyst. His Medium account was created in May 2025 and lists him as a “Political analyst and writer exploring the impact of war, global conflict, and power dynamics.” However, no other works or professional presence for this identity have been found outside of Medium.
The profile image used for Brown has also been detected by two AI-image detectors as artificially generated. Furthermore, the publishing behavior of the account raises questions: Between May 16 and June 9, the author reportedly posted 53 analytical articles—more than two per day—covering diverse and complex geopolitical topics from across the globe. Such output is unusual for any credible expert and strongly indicates AI-generated or fabricated content.
Link to Robert Brown’s Medium account: https://medium.com/@robertbrownmr94_30753
The entire episode underscores how speculative content and AI-generated misinformation can be amplified on social media, even by prominent political figures, without verification or credible evidence.
