After Sheikh Hasina's resignation as Prime Minister of Bangladesh on August 5, triggered by the quota reform movement, reports of unrest have surfaced from various parts of the country, including attacks on places of worship belonging to religious minorities.

The Bangladesh Hindu-Buddhist-Christian Unity Council reports that in 29 districts, there have been instances of attacks, vandalism, and looting targeting the homes, businesses, and temples of minority Hindus.

According to the Daily Prothom Alo, attacks on minority communities have been reported in at least 12 districts, involving the destruction of temples, homes, and shops. These incidents are also being shared on social media in India.

However, upon verification, it has been discovered that many of these posts are using outdated photos and videos. DismisLab has identified six such claims that provide misleading information about the current events.

A video alleging an attack on the Navagraha Temple in Chattogram was shared from the Daily Latest Updates account on X (formerly Twitter). The video shows a fire burning next to a temple and includes hashtags such as #AllEyesOnBangladeshiHindus and #SaveBangladeshiHindus, implying that Hindus are under threat. This account is reportedly managed from India.

DismisLab discovered a Facebook post related to this claim during its verification process. The post argues that the alleged attack on the Navagraha Temple is propaganda. The poster clarified to DismisLab that no such attack occurred at the Navagraha Temple in Lal Dighi Pahar, Chattogram.

Instead, the video shows a fire caused by arson and vandalism at the Chattogram South District Awami League office, which is near the temple. The poster also provided DismisLab with photos of the intact temple and confirmed that the temple's caretaker, Swapan Das, has verified this information.

The same video was also broadcast on the Indian media channel Republic TV, where a video posted on Republic Bangla's official YouTube channel on August 6 was titled "Navagraha Temple Vandalized in Lal Dighi Pahar, Chattogram #shorts," falsely claiming that the Navagraha Temple was attacked.

A video showing a fire at a Hindu-owned shop has been posted on the social media platform X. The video depicts a shop on fire with some people attempting to move goods away from the flames.

The video was posted on August 7 and features multiple hashtags, including #AllEyesOnBangladeshiHindus, which have emerged following recent events in Bangladesh. According to information from X, this account is also managed from India.

Indian media outlet Sudarshan News has also circulated this video, promoting it as an attack on Hindus. Verification reveals that the event depicted is not recent. The original video shows a fire from July of this year in Lakshmipur’s Majuchowdhuryhat, where 15 shops were burned down.

This indicates that while the specific cause of the fire is not known, it is confirmed that the incident occurred before Sheikh Hasina's resignation and is not related to communal violence.

The two videos mentioned above have also been disseminated by an account named "Voice of Bangladeshi Hindus," which has previously been known for spreading misinformation about minority persecution in Bangladesh. Multiple fact-checking reports have been published regarding this misinformation (1, 2, 3).

An X account has posted a claim that the house of Bangladeshi cricket player Liton Das has been burned down, alleging that Islamist extremists in Bangladesh are responsible for the fire. Verification shows that this account is managed from India and that the house depicted in the video does not belong to Liton Das.

In fact, the house that was set on fire belonged to former MP Mashrafe Bin Mortuza from the Narail-2 constituency, and the video shows that property.

In addition to false claims about house fires, misleading images alleging rape have also been shared on X. One such image features a person lying on a bed with others around them. The person is not visibly clothed, and much of their body is obscured by blurring.

This account, managed from India, claims the image shows Hindu women being subjected to rape and sexual violence due to anti-government protests in Bangladesh. However, a 2023 report by the Indian fact-checking organization AltNews confirms that this image was previously used to falsely depict Hindu persecution in Bangladesh and actually originates from an incident in Bangalore, India.

Furthermore, an X account named Baba Banaras has circulated a claim that a Bangladeshi Hindu was killed and hung with a statue. This account is also managed from India and alleges that Jamaat-e-Islami militants were responsible for this act.

However, a report by DismisLab, which includes a related video, reveals that the deceased person is not Hindu. The video actually shows Shahidul Islam Hiron, the General Secretary of the Awami League in Jhinaidah Sadar Upazila and Chairman of the 9 No. Poara Hati Union.

India Today has also covered this video, clarifying that it does not depict the beating and execution of an elderly Hindu in Bangladesh, but rather Shahidul Islam Hiron, a Muslim Awami League leader from Jhinaidah.

Additionally, a post from the same account claims, "Big news from Bangladesh! Attacks on Hindus have started across the country! Hindus are being targeted nationwide! Muslim protesters are breaking into Hindu homes and vandalizing them. Muslim extremists are also setting fire to Hindu temples, including ISKCON and Kali temples.

So far, 500 people have died and thousands have been injured..." The post includes three images. One shows a clash between police and ruling party members during the quota reform movement, while another, from 2021, depicts clashes related to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Bangladesh.

The image of the temple used in the post is not from any recent event either. It originates from April, when there were allegations of arson at the Sarbojanin Kali Temple in Panchapalli village, Madukhali, Faridpur. In that incident, local residents killed two construction workers suspected of involvement. This event occurred before the quota reform movement began and is not recent. The Kali temple image in the post is from the April incident.

A study by Assistant Professor Syed Al-Zaman from the Journalism and Media Studies Department at Jahangirnagar University on religious misinformation in Bangladesh reveals that 69.3% of users believe false information, while only 25.9% can identify and reject it.

Nearly half of the users (48.21%) engage in extremist rhetoric, react negatively, and accept false information. The study also suggests that the political links related to violence driven by religious misinformation may be more significant than the religious connections themselves.

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