Bangladesh clip falsely depicted as protest in India over controversial bill
- Published on April 24, 2025 at 10:40
- 3 min read
- By Devesh MISHRA, AFP India
Copyright © AFP 2017-2025. Any commercial use of this content requires a subscription. Click here to find out more.
The misrepresented video, shared April 16, 2025 on Facebook, contains several clips of people vandalising a building before setting it on fire.
"See the beautiful picture of brotherhood in West Bengal," reads the post's sarcastic Hindi-language caption.
"How the pious servants of Allah are peacefully protesting against the Waqf bill by breaking the houses of infidel Hindus, setting them on fire, looting their belongings, raping their daughters."
The video ricocheted on Facebook and X after India deployed troops to quell deadly protests in West Bengal over the Waqf bill that amends how Muslim-owned properties are managed.
Three people, including a child, were killed, police told AFP, while 118 others were arrested in connection with the violence (archived link).
According to the ruling Hindu nationalist government, the legislation will boost transparency around land management by holding accountable powerful Waqf boards, which control properties gifted by Muslim charitable endowments.
The opposition has called the bill a polarising "attack" on India's Muslim minority, and accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party of trying to win favour with its right-wing Hindu base.
The video, however, is unrelated to the West Bengal protests.
The logo of Bangladesh-based news outlet DBC News can be seen in its top left corner. A keyword search on YouTube found the broadcaster published the clip on February 25, 2025 (archived link).
"Awami League office vandalised and set on fire in Chapainawabganj," says the video's Bangla-language title, referring to the political party of Bangladesh's former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who was toppled in August 2024 following a student-led revolution.
Other reports on the attack featured similar visuals (archived here, here and here).
AFP confirmed the location of the falsely shared footage by comparing its visuals to Google Maps street imagery of the political party's office in Chapainawabganj in the northwestern part of Bangladesh (archived link).
Following the spread of the false claim, a district police department in West Bengal warned social media users against sharing misinformation.
"Necessary legal action being taken against those trying to distract the general public by making fake and provocative posts," it said in a statement on Facebook, along with the false video stamped "Fake News" (archived link).
AFP has previously debunked falsely shared visuals linked to the Waqf bill here, here and here.
Is there content that you would like AFP to fact-check? Get in touch.
Contact us
