FactWatch Finds Fake Footage Fuels Falsehood Against Bangladesh
Fact-checking organization FactWatch has revealed that an old crime video from neighboring India has been misused to spread disinformation against Bangladesh.
According to FactWatch, a video showing a woman being abducted in public was circulated on Facebook with the claim that it had occurred in Ruma upazila of Bandarban. The video was used in an attempt to question the law-and-order situation under the current interim government. However, investigation confirmed that the incident actually took place in India’s Uttar Pradesh.
The organization reported that to trace the video’s origin, a reverse image search was conducted. This search led to the same video being found in a report published on July 3, 2019, by Indian news outlet Business Standard.
According to that report, the incident occurred in Bareilly district of Uttar Pradesh, where a girl had married against her family’s wishes. The couple was assaulted by the girl’s family, and she was forcibly taken away on a motorcycle by her relatives. Business Standard published this information citing the Indian news agency ANI.
FactWatch confirmed that the video shared on Facebook was not from Bandarban but from India. As a result, the claim associated with the viral video has been identified as false.
