PIB Clarifies Misinterpretations over Fake News Retraction Data
The Press Institute of Bangladesh (PIB) has issued a clarification regarding media reports citing data from an ongoing research project titled “Nature and Dynamics of Misinformation in Bangladesh’s Media.” In a statement issued on Sunday, PIB explained that while the presentation mentioned the analysis of “404 Page Not Found” links from newspaper websites—indicating retracted content, some of which involve misinformation—the presentation slide did not explicitly clarify that the numbers represented all retracted items, not exclusively misinformation. This omission, PIB noted, created room for public misinterpretation.
The clarification follows a seminar held on June 28, where several journalists and experts, including lead presenter Mamun-or-Rashid, consultant to the EBLICT project under Bangladesh Computer Council, spoke about the rising trend of misinformation even within mainstream media. Mamun-or-Rashid stated, “Since the mass protests of August 5 last year, the tendency of publishing fake news has grown in mainstream outlets. In many cases, the motive appears more about going viral than adhering to objectivity.”
Fact checker Qadruddin Shishir wrote on social media after the report was published, "After reading the report, I would like to say that perhaps there is a very serious level of blunder in the research itself, or there is a blunder in the media report. My experience of observing the media in Bangladesh for the past ten years tells me that the conclusion drawn in the intro and within this news item based on the research is based on a fatal mistake."
Citing data from fact-checking sites and scraping 694 broken links from mainstream media over six months (January–June 2024), the initial research showed that Prothom Alo had the highest number of retracted news reports, followed by Kalbela and Ittefaq. Other media outlets mentioned included Jugantor, The Daily Star, Dhaka Post, Bangla Tribune, bdnews24.com, Kaler Kantho, Jamuna TV, BBC Bangla, Channel 24, Somoy News, Jago News 24, BanglaNews24.com, Janakantha, Dhaka Tribune, The Business Standard, Desh Rupantor, Inqilab, Independent TV, Samayer Kantho, Ekattor TV, NTV Web, Jaijaidin, Amader Shomoy, Samayer Alo, and BD Pratidin.
One of Mamun-or-Rashid’s presentation slides showed that Prothom Alo had retracted 121 fake reports in six months, followed by bdnews24.com, Jugantor, and Samakal. However, the same slide's chart indicated Kalbela and Ittefaq as the second and third highest, respectively, creating confusion.
“This is my own research work, and it has revealed startling insights from January to June. The data is still being updated for eventual journal publication,” said Mamun-or-Rashid when contacted by DigiBanglaTech.news. He acknowledged that media reporting on the seminar might have caused some confusion. “Prothom Alo publishes a large number of reports, so naturally, their retraction count appears higher—but this is not final. A complete report will be published soon. PIB will also issue clarification regarding the confusion,” he added.
Later in the day, PIB’s official statement reinforced that the seminar aimed to share early findings from an ongoing study led by Mamun-or-Rashid under the ICT Division, on behalf of PIB. The presentation featured comparative data on retracted news and misinformation in online media. However, the way some outlets covered the seminar “has created confusion among the public,” the statement read, adding, “Some headlines even appeared to target specific media organizations.”
The seminar was chaired by PIB Director General Faruk Wasif, with Chief Adviser’s Special Assistant Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb attending as the chief guest. It was moderated by PIB’s Senior Research Officer Golam Morshed.
Commenting on the issue during the seminar, Faruk Wasif noted, “In the last 15 years, responsible journalism has seen a decline. Misinformation cannot be combated by fact-checking alone—it needs to be transformed into a social movement.”
