AI-generated videos burst into political campaign amid surge in election misinformation: Dismislab
The use of AI-generated content in the spread of misinformation has steadily been growing in Bangladesh for quite some time, but the second quarter of 2025 has broken all past records in terms of the nature and the medium used to make fake or misleading content, reads a report of Dismislab.
In a break from the past, some of the content now consists of synthetic videos, rather than images, of political campaigns created using Google's Veo-3 technology.
"The phenomena has raised concerns over the potential impact of AI-generated content on voters as Bangladesh prepares for national election. Bangladesh's chief election commissioner himself sees the misuse of AI in the upcoming election as a serious challenge," adds the report.
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This quarter has also seen a significant surge in misinformation centering on global events, from just 1% of all misinformation in Bangladesh in the first quarter to 19% in the second quarter, said Dismislab.
This spike in misinformation on international events coincides with the terror attack in Kashmir's Pahalgam in April reigniting tensions between India and Pakistan and the Iran-Israel conflict in June. Both events reverberated in Bangladesh throughout the period.
According to the Dismislab report, overall, spread of misinformation surged by 17% in this quarter compared to the first quarter of 2025. Politics remains the most frequent topic of misinformation in Bangladesh, as was also evident in the second quarter of this year, with 44% of all the unique pieces of misinformation related to politics. The national parliamentary election was one of the key subjects of political misinformation. Some of the top political figures, who were subjects of misinformation regarding Bangladesh's election and politics, include Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus, US President Donald Trump and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader Salahuddin Ahmed. Various false claims were also spread concerning the alleged involvement of politicians in corruption and criminal activities. Misinformation involving religion saw a slight decline in this quarter.
Dismislab has identified this pattern through an analysis of reports published on eight fact-checking websites focused on Bangladesh in the second quarter of 2025 (April–June). During this period, a total of 1,361 fact-check reports were published across these websites. In cases where multiple reports were published on the same claim, only one was counted as a unique item for analysis. Through this method, 1,013 unique pieces of misinformation were identified—a 17% increase compared to the previous quarter (868).
Election and spike in political misinformation
Since the fall of the Awami League government on 5 August 2024, and the assumption of power by the interim government on 8 August, discussions over the next parliamentary election have dominated Bangladesh's political landscape. Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus has stated that the election could be held in February or April 2026, reads the release.
Meanwhile, the BNP, one of the country's major political parties, has been demanding elections by December this year. Amid intense discussions about the timeline, misinformation centering on the election has also spread far and wide this quarter.
In the first quarter, only seven instances of election-related misinformation were recorded. In the second quarter, that number rose to at least 55, registering an eightfold increase. As BNP has been the most vocal political party about holding elections swiftly, its leaders have become frequent targets of various false claims.
For example, a fabricated photo card attributed to BNP Standing Committee Member Salahuddin Ahmed falsely quoted him as saying, "BNP will not participate in the election if it is not held by December." In another instance, he was misquoted as saying that if elections are not held by December, BNP would form an alliance with its rival party, the Awami League, and launch a movement. False statements were also spread in the name of BNP's acting chairman Tarique Rahman, claiming that BNP would initiate a strong protest if the election is not held within the year. One fabricated claim, circulated through a doctored media photo card, falsely suggested that US President Donald Trump had urged BNP to prepare for the election.
Misinformation also emerged around Md Yunus, including false claims that he had already announced the election date. Additionally, a fabricated quote attributed to Barrister Asaduzzaman Fuad, general secretary of the Amar Bangladesh Party, claimed that instead of holding parliamentary elections, Md Yunus should remain in power for five years, reads the report.
False claims also circulated concerning the participation of the ousted Awami League in the next national election. One such piece of misinformation stated that the United Nations declared that no election would be held without the Awami League. Another claimed that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called on the Bangladeshi government to ensure security of Awami League leaders during the election.
Misinformation also continued to circulate globally over the ban on the Awami League's activities on May 10, falsely claiming international concern over the matter. For instance, a fake photo card styled after BBC Bangla falsely stated that India, Russia, and China expressed reservations over the decision. Another piece of misinformation claimed that Donald Trump issued a 24-hour ultimatum demanding the ban be lifted.
Beyond election-related narratives, false claims have also targeted leaders and activists of various political parties in connection with corruption and criminal activities. Members of the newly formed National Citizen Party (NCP) were falsely accused of hoarding luxury vehicles worth millions of taka, rice allocated under a social safety net program called Vulnerable Group Development (VGD), and large sums of cash. An old video from India was circulated to falsely claim that BNP leaders were involved in extortion.
On the other hand, the misinformation targeting female politicians often aimed at character assassination. Edited explicit or semi-explicit images and videos collected from the internet were falsely attributed to female leaders of the NCP. For example, a doctored video of an Indian model was circulated, falsely claiming to show footage of quota reform movement protestor Nafsin Mehanaz. Similar types of misinformation were seen in the name of NCP leader Arpita Shyama Deb.
AI-generated images and videos have also been used in spreading political misinformation. For example, a deepfake video falsely claimed that Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus had resigned. Another deepfake video circulated the false claim that Donald Trump praised Md Yunus. One such post was even shared by the interim government's Law Advisor Asif Nazrul.
