Video shows donations to Bangladesh mosque, not aid for Punjab flood victims

Published on September 16, 2025 at 10:51
3 min read
By Sachin BAGHEL, Eyamin SAJID, AFP India, AFP Bangladesh

A clip showing donations for a mosque in Bangladesh has resurfaced in posts falsely claiming it shows money collected by Muslim groups for flood victims in India's Punjab state. While Muslim organisations have come forward to assist those affected by the deadly floods, the clip previously circulated in news reports about the donations to the mosque in Dhaka.

"Our Muslim brothers came forward to help the flood victims in Punjab. My heartfelt salute to my Muslim brothers," reads the Hindi-language caption of an X video shared on September 2, 2025.

The video, shared more than 4,600 times, shows a group of people emptying a sack of money onto the floor as a devotional Islamic song plays in the background.

It surfaced after flooding across northwestern Punjab state -- a region often dubbed India's breadbasket -- killed at least 52 people and affected over 400,000 in August, with the state's chief minister calling it "one of the worst flood disasters in decades" (archived here and here).

Floods and landslides are common during the June-September monsoon season in the subcontinent, but experts say climate change, coupled with poorly planned development, is increasing their frequency, severity and impact.

Punjab saw rainfall surge by almost two-thirds compared with the average rate for August, according to the national weather department.

Screenshot of the false X post captured on September 4, 2025, with a red X added by AFP

The video was also shared in similar Facebook and X posts.

While local news outlet The Quint reported that Muslim organisations from across the country had come forward to assist flood-affected areas in the Sikh-majority state, the video circulating online is unrelated to flood relief efforts (archived link).

A reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the falsely shared video led to a same video posted on YouTube channel of Bangladesh media outlet Somoyer Konthosor on August 30 (archived link).

Its Bengali-language caption says it shows donations to the Pagla Mosque in Bangladesh's capital Dhaka (archived link).

Screenshot comparison of the falsely shared clip (left) and the video published by Somoyer Konthosor (right)

Similar footage also posted on the verified YouTube channel of Bangladeshi media outlet BVNEWS24 on August 30 (archived link).

"All the shocking things found from donation box of Pagla Mosque," reads part of the video's Bengali-language title.

Zubayer Ibne Gias, an officer of the Pagla Mosque management committee, told AFP: "The video shows donation boxes opening at the historic Pagla Mosque in Kishoreganj on August 30. Usually we open the mosque's donation boxes every three or four months."

"There is no link between Punjab flood victims and this donation," Gias said on September 9.

According to a Dhaka Tribune report from August 30, the mosque collected 120,900,000 Bangladeshi Taka (approximately US$986,000) in donations (archived link).

The report quoted the management committee president as saying the donations came from people of all religions, and the funds will be used to support the building of an Islamic complex as well as social welfare activities and a madrasa.

It added that the mosque fund holds nearly 1,000,000,000 Bangladeshi Taka, and "interest from bank deposits is used to assist patients with cancer, kidney, and other critical illnesses".

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