How US-based website, some Bangladesh news outlets let ghost authors publish articles on Bangladesh without any checks
Dr Mansur appears to be the preferred target of these fake articles in the wake of his visit to the UK to seek the British government’s support to repatriate stolen funds allegedly laundered abroad
A month-long investigation by Dismislab has found 10 articles published in the US-based International Policy Digest (IPD) that are critical of Bangladesh's post-uprising government have been written by authors who appear to have no verifiable identities or contacts, often using stolen profile images from sites like Shutterstock.
One such article, published on 31 January 2025, under the byline of Tim Larkin, accuses Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur of hypocrisy, contrasting his financial policies with the supposed wealth of his daughter. However, an investigation by Dismislab found that Tim Larkin, along with other authors of similar articles, does not exist. Their identities could not be verified, their profile pictures were sourced from stock photo websites, and they had no digital presence.
Several Bangladeshi outlets picked it up. The first Bangla version appeared on BD Digest on 1 February. The next day, Khaborer Kagoj reported that the governor's daughter Mehreen Sarah Mansur was living lavishly in Dubai, questioning the legality of her wealth. Khaborer Kagoj also released a video. Later that morning, Bangladesh First and Barta24 published similar articles. On 2 February, Daily Janakantha followed with a report, and SA TV published a video the next day.
Dr Mansur appears to be the preferred target of these fake articles in the wake of his visit to the UK to seek the British government's support to repatriate stolen funds allegedly laundered abroad, including in the UK, by members of Sheikh Hasina's government, says Dismislab.
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At least three articles –all coinciding with his visit–target him personally, his banking regulation policies and the reported "lavish life" of his daughter living abroad.
The Dismislab investigation found a serious lack in IPD's editorial process, allowing targeted propaganda and misinformation to make their way onto the website and subsequently in media and social media.
Dismislab tested IPD's editorial integrity by submitting two AI-generated articles with fabricated authors and misinformation—one accusing the UN of bias in reporting on Bangladesh's 2024 uprising, and another praising the student-led National Citizen Party (NCP). The UN-related article, despite containing debunked falsehoods, was published without verification, while the NCP article remained unpublished.
Despite these revelations, IPD's Editor Lyman defended the platform, claiming occasional errors happen and can be corrected. However, the investigation shows that misinformation campaigns can exploit IPD's weaknesses to spread targeted propaganda without scrutiny.
