BanglaFact Busts Bogus Ballot Video Linked to DUCSU Polls

The Fact-Check and Media Research Team of the Press Institute Bangladesh (PIB), known as BanglaFact, has identified a fake video circulating on social media that falsely claimed ballot stuffing took place during the Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (DUCSU) election. According to BanglaFact, the footage actually shows an incident of ballot fraud during the 2024 upazila parishad election in Chhagalnaiya, Feni, under the Awami League government.

BanglaFact reported that the viral video claimed voters were openly stamping ballots during the DUCSU and hall union elections. However, verification revealed that the video was unrelated to DUCSU. In reality, it showed an individual stamping multiple ballots during the Chhagalnaiya upazila election on June 5, 2024.

Reverse image searches of still frames from the video matched footage posted on June 5, 2024, by a Facebook page titled “News24Narayanganj.” The original post identified the incident as occurring during the Chhagalnaiya election, where a single voter was seen marking multiple ballots.

Further keyword searches revealed coverage by Dhaka Post, which reported that police had detained six people from different polling centers on allegations of ballot fraud during the Chhagalnaiya election.

BanglaFact also noted that mainstream media, including Prothom Alo and bdnews24.com, had reported irregularities and ballot fraud during the June 5, 2024, polls in Chhagalnaiya.

The investigation concluded that the video is being falsely circulated as evidence of fraud in the DUCSU election. BanglaFact emphasized that such claims are “completely false” and reaffirmed its commitment to countering rumors, misinformation, and disinformation while providing the public with verified facts.