Dhaka:A total of 137 fake Facebook accounts, pages, and groups using the name and photographs of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman have been identified by BanglaFact, State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Yasser Khan Choudhury informed Parliament on Thursday.
According to United News of Bangladesh, this information was disclosed during a response to a starred question from BNP lawmaker Sherin Sultana during the question-and-answer session in the House. The state minister addressed the session in the absence of Information and Broadcasting Minister Andaleeve Rahman, with proceedings starting at 420 pm under Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad.
Sherin Sultana inquired about the ministry's efforts to raise public awareness and improve coordination among relevant agencies to prevent the circulation of manipulated images of women, blackmail, defamation through fake accounts, and online harassment of children. In response, Yasser Khan Choudhury explained that BanglaFact, a digital initiative of the Press Institute Bangladesh under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, is actively working against fake information, disinformation, and hate speech online.
The state minister highlighted that BanglaFact has published 1,172 fact-checks and investigative reports to counter misleading news, with 552 of these reports released since the current government took office. Additionally, BanglaFact has identified 19 websites that mimic media outlets to spread disinformation and has found over 800 Facebook accounts and more than 100 accounts on X involved in spreading false information.
Furthermore, BanglaFact verifies an average of three to five claims daily, publishing reports, reels, and videos based on their findings. A fact-checking manual is set to be released soon to aid the public and journalists in verifying information.