How a ‘Fly-by-Night’ Platform Spread Confusion Over Election Results

The 13th National Parliament Election of Bangladesh was held on February 12. After polling ended at 4:30 PM, vote counting began. Countless voters were anxiously waiting, counting the hours, worried about the victory or defeat of their preferred candidates. As center-based results started coming in around evening, public curiosity intensified. Taking advantage of this moment, many began searching online for reliable platforms. It was at this very time that a so-called platform named ‘Election Watch Bangladesh’ emerged. Some well-known influencers on social media and Facebook pages of certain candidates’ campaign cells promoted it as a ‘government platform’ and broadcast election results through it. Even one online news portal published news citing this website.

Following the claim that the platform was governmental, Rumor Scanner launched an investigation into the matter. To verify the truth, they contacted multiple journalists on duty at the Election Commission (EC), who confirmed that the EC was not publishing any results online in this manner. Later, when contacted, EC officials stated that this platform had no connection whatsoever with the EC.

Once it was confirmed that it was not affiliated with the EC, Rumor Scanner searched further to uncover the full details of this so-called platform. It was found that the page’s first post related to election results was made at 6:03 PM. That post showed results from one center in Nilphamari-3 constituency, where the Jamaat alliance candidate was shown leading. The second post displayed results from two centers in Chattogram-11, showing the BNP candidate leading. Additionally, results from a total of 40 centers were published, prominently featuring the Jamaat alliance ahead. Through these posts, the platform quickly gained attention, and it was claimed to be a government website.

Reviewing the page’s transparency section revealed that it was created on December 29, 2025, under the name ‘BD Election Watch’. It was later renamed to its current name on January 28 this year. Alongside the Facebook page, they also had a website (now inactive). Checking the domain registration showed it was registered on January 13 this year. An analysis of the Meta Ad Library indicated that, at the time of this report, one advertisement was still active on the page. According to the data, nine other advertisements had previously been run from the page, now paused. Reviewing all those ads showed that three were related to promises of rewards based on election predictions, three promoted the website, and one called for page follows. Among the remaining ads, two were directly negative propaganda campaigns targeting the political party BNP.

Based on the results propagated by this so-called platform, claims were made that election data was being removed from the government website. Citing this, some people raised allegations of ‘election engineering’ or vote rigging on social media. Prominent Facebook activist Pinaki Bhattacharya also made similar allegations based on information from this platform. Amid all this discussion and criticism, the page posted that due to a ‘bot attack’, results were not visible on their website and it was under maintenance. Following these discussions and criticisms, a new disclaimer was added to the website stating: “This information is fictional and for display purposes only; it is not the actual election result.” However, no such information was mentioned in the page’s advertisements; instead, they had been promoting it with promises of ‘instant and accurate information’.

In investigating who was behind this platform, a Facebook profile named ‘MSI Shafin’ was traced. On February 4, a post from that ID stated: “Very soon, ‘Election Watch Bangladesh’ will arrive on everyone’s mobile, InshaAllah.” On February 8, the website was announced with the same ID. Reviewing the profile revealed multiple posts related to Bangladesh Islami Chhatra Shibir. In two posts (1,2), photos were found with top leaders of the organization. Additionally, one post invited everyone to the New Year publication festival 2026 organized by Shibir at Shobujbagh Government College.

After the platform was promoted as governmental, Rumor Scanner debunked the claim, confirming it had no state affiliation. In response, the page posted claiming they were not a government website and that Shafin was not their owner. According to their claim, it was a ‘US-based non-profit organization’, and Shafin was merely a freelance data entry operator. However, they failed to provide the name or identity of any US-based organization in support of this claim.