137 fake Facebook accounts using PM Tarique's name, photos identified: State minister
More than 300 Facebook and 100 X accounts spreading false and misleading information have also been identified, he says.
A total of 137 fake Facebook accounts, pages and groups using the name and photos of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman have been identified by BanglaFact, the fact-checking unit of the Press Institute Bangladesh, State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Yaser Khan Chowdhury said today (2 September).
The unit has also identified 16 websites mimicking newspapers and television channels to spread misinformation and propaganda, along with more than 300 Facebook accounts and 100 accounts on X, formerly Twitter, spreading misleading and false information, he said.
The state minister made the disclosure in reply to a question from Sherpur-1 Jamaat lawmaker Md Rashedul Islam Rashed during the question-answer session in parliament. The information and broadcasting minister was absent at the time.
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"We [the government] have set up an integrated fact-checking and information verification framework through the Press Information Department (PID) to identify false and misleading information that spreads rapidly on social media," he said.
A central "Fact Checking and Rumour Prevention Committee" is working round the clock at the PID headquarters, while the headquarters and regional information offices in divisional cities are monitoring social media and online platforms under the committee's direction, he added.
"Once misinformation or rumours are identified, government fact-checking messages and clarification notices are disseminated through websites, social media and the media," the state minister said.
He also said the Press Institute Bangladesh (PIB), another agency under the information and broadcasting ministry, is also conducting fact-checking and media analysis activities to counter rumours and misleading information on social media.
According to information presented in parliament, BanglaFact has so far published 860 fact-checks, analyses, investigative reports and videos or reels. Of these, 306 fact-checks were carried out after the current government took office.
The unit currently verifies an average of three to five claims a day and publishes reports, reels and videos based on its findings, he added.
Alongside identifying fake online accounts, journalists are also being trained to improve their fact-checking skills, the state minister said.
"From 1 October 2024 to June 2026, the PIB trained 6,774 journalists through 141 training workshops in 64 districts. Since the current government took office, 739 journalists have participated in 20 such training programmes," he said.
Of these, 14 training programmes covered digital journalism, artificial intelligence and fact-checking, he added.
The state minister said every training programme organised by the PIB over the past two years included at least one day of training on countering rumours, fact-checking and the use of AI in journalism.
As part of these government initiatives, social media and online platforms are being regularly monitored, and when false or misleading information is identified, steps are being taken to verify it and counter it with government information, he added.
