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 told Parliament on Thursday.
This information was disclosed while replying to a starred question from BNP lawmaker Sherin Sultana (Women Seat-2) during the question-and-answer session in the House.
In absence of Information and Broadcasting Minister Andaleeve Rahman, the state minister on his behalf answered questions after the Parliament day’s proceedings began at 4:20pm with Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad, Bir Bikram.
Sherin Sultana wanted to know about the steps taken by the ministry to raise public awareness, ensure swift resolution of complaints and strengthen coordination among relevant agencies to prevent the circulation of manipulated images of women on social media, blackmail and defamation through fake accounts, and online harassment of children.
In his reply, Yasser Khan Choudhury said BanglaFact, the digital initiative of the Press Institute Bangladesh (PIB) under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, was actively working against fake information, disinformation, hate speech and attempts at character assassination circulated online.
He said BanglaFact has so far published 1,172 fact-checks, analyses, investigative reports, videos and reels to counter propaganda, malicious campaigns and misleading news.
Of these, 552 have been published since the present government assumed office.
The state minister said BanglaFact had earlier identified 19 websites that mimic newspapers and television channels to spread propaganda and disinformation.
He said BanglaFact has also identified more than 800 Facebook accounts and over 100 accounts on X spreading misleading and false information.
He said BanglaFact currently verified an average of three to five claims daily and publishes reports, reels and videos based on its findings.
A fact-checking manual will soon be published to facilitate the work of members of the public and journalists, he added.