The Tamesis
Dhaka – The schedule for Bangladesh’s 13th National Assembly Elections and Referendum was announced on December 11, with the voting date being February 12, 2026. Since then, the campaign season has unfolded not only through rallies, statements and nominations, but also through increasing amounts of misinformation. A Dismislab investigation found that much of this is less about convincing voters and more about shaping the narrative of who has momentum and who doesn’t.
Over the past month, these false claims have tended to fall into two familiar categories. Some strive to put a favorable spin on political parties, giving them popularity, legitimacy or international recognition.
Others go in the opposite direction, trying to discredit competitors by fabricating quotes, distorting videos or fabricating scandals. Most of the activity is concentrated in three political parties: Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Bangladeshi Jamaat-e-Islami and National Civic Party.
The Awami League, whose political activities are banned, is not absent from this ecosystem. Misinformation related to the party is also spreading, with nearly all portraying continued public support, the report said.
Between November 16 and December 15, nine Bangladeshi fact-checking organizations discovered and debunked 63 false election-related claims. In the previous weeks, from October 16 to November 15, the total reached 50 cases, an increase of approximately 26%. The numbers are striking, but so is the consistency of form: misrepresentations and quotations are the most common tactics, attributed to sources as diverse as party leaders, political activists, interim government advisers, heads of foreign governments and, increasingly, AI-generated “ordinary citizens.”
Much of the misinformation used to glorify political parties focuses on Jamaat-e-Islami and Awami League. The report said some false claims portrayed Jamaat-e-Islami as enjoying international recognition or on the verge of political success.
Error messages also follow the mechanics of the campaign itself. Candidate nominations and early campaigning have become distortion points, while broader narratives cast doubt on whether the election will take place.
In other cases, misinformation has been used to discredit political parties, with BNP Paribas appearing to be a frequent target. A widely circulated AI-generated video shows a police officer claiming that Tariq Rahman promised him more privileges if the BNP came to power. The report found that the AI-generated videos were presented as truthful statements.
The NCP is also a target. A post claimed that Nafsin Mehanaz Azireen, a North South University student who was active in the July uprising, has been nominated by the NCP for Dhaka-19. Others targeted Sirajganj-5’s NCP nominee Manzur Quader, falsely claiming that he seized Dhanmondi Club during his tenure in the Awami League and renamed it “Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club” to support the ruling family.
