Jamaat Amir’s X Account Hacked, Fabricated Post Sparks Confusion
Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami has alleged that misinformation was spread by hacking the X (formerly Twitter) account of the party’s Ameer and posting fabricated content related to women. The matter was confirmed in a press release signed by Advocate Ehsanul Mahbub Zubayer, Assistant Secretary General of Jamaat-e-Islami, and issued by the party’s central publicity wing late Saturday night, 31 January. In connection with the incident, Jamaat’s Election Management Committee has filed a General Diary (GD) with Hatirjheel Police Station.
According to Jamaat sources, the Ameer’s X account was hacked shortly after 4:00 pm on Saturday, 31 January. At around 4:30 pm, an unexpected and objectionable post was published from the compromised account. As soon as the issue came to light, Jamaat-e-Islami’s cyber team took immediate action and managed to fully regain control of the account shortly after 5:00 pm. The controversial post was subsequently removed.
However, the party alleged that screenshots and copies of the briefly published post were circulated across various social media platforms in an attempt to conduct propaganda. Jamaat stated that although the account was recovered a little after 5:00 pm, the misinformation had already begun spreading. The party also urged the general public, journalists, and social media users to remain extremely cautious against fake news, fabricated quotations, and misleading information.
To stop such propaganda and identify those involved, Jamaat sought the cooperation of the authorities and filed a GD at Hatirjheel Police Station around midnight on Saturday.
Member of Jamaat’s Election Management Committee, Sirajul Islam, said that the post published during the hacked state of the account was derogatory toward women and was completely inconsistent with the thoughts, values, and previous statements of Dr. Shafiqur Rahman. He described the incident as a deliberate attempt to spread confusion and misinformation.
Meanwhile, in a separate statement, Advocate Ehsanul Mahbub Zubayer, Assistant Secretary General of the party and head of its central publicity and media department, said that a coordinated cyberattack had been carried out to temporarily take control of the Ameer’s X account. He added that prompt action by the cyber team enabled the recovery of the account and ensured the security of other digital platforms as well.
He further stated that spreading false information, identity fraud, and the creation and circulation of distorted content are punishable by law and morally reprehensible, posing a threat to the democratic environment.
Jamaat-e-Islami has called upon media professionals and social media users not to share any content without verification and to rely solely on official and credible sources for information.
DBTech/SM/EK/OR
