Anonymous Page Post Sparks Rumors After Milestone School Plane Crash
In the aftermath of the tragic training aircraft crash at Milestone School and College in Uttara, a Facebook post by the verified page "Anonymous Main Page" went viral, sparking debate and speculation across social media platforms. On July 20, a day before the incident, the page posted a message claiming, “A school building is going to collapse, killing many children.”
Following the crash, the same page shared a video of the incident and added, “We always issue warnings beforehand.” This led to widespread speculation online about the page's credibility and possible foreknowledge of the incident.
However, Kadrruddin Shishir, former fact-check editor of AFP Bangladesh, debunked the claims. In a Facebook post, Shishir clarified, “Firstly, this page has no affiliation with the well-known Anonymous hacker collective. The official Anonymous website does not link to this Facebook page. Secondly, the page in question is primarily used for online gambling promotions and recruiting new users.”
He added, “Thirdly, the viral post never mentioned Bangladesh, and what happened in Dhaka was not a building collapse. The plane crashed onto a school building, causing a fire that led to the deaths. The victims did not die due to structural failure. There is no basis for saying the post predicted the Bangladesh incident. Certain political actors have tried to draw such conclusions, which do not align with the facts.”
Shishir also noted that the page is likely operated by scammers. “Earlier checks on the page’s transparency section showed that it was being operated from three countries: the United States (Hawaii), Nigeria, and one undisclosed location. Following the viral post, the administrators hid this information. Nigeria is known to be a hub for online gambling operations, and one promotional video featured a person of African descent. This strongly suggests connections to Nigerian gambling networks,” he wrote.
Meanwhile, speculation on social media began circulating that the government was hiding the identities of the deceased children. In response, the Press Wing of the Chief Advisor issued a statement urging restraint and rejecting such claims.
“The government is providing full support to the victims’ families. Every effort is being made to identify the deceased through proper verification and DNA testing where necessary,” the statement read.
The Press Wing further stated, “We categorically deny allegations that any information is being withheld. The government, along with the military, school authorities, and hospitals, is working in coordination to ensure the accurate and complete identification of victims.”
The public has also been urged to contact the school authorities if anyone known to them remains missing. A control room is being set up for this purpose, and cross-checks are being conducted using the school’s registry and other official documents.
