In December 2025, the Bangladeshi fact-checking organization Rumor Scanner identified 521 instances of misinformation circulating on the internet, marking the highest number of detections in a single month in the organization’s history. These findings were published through 447 reports on their website. Analysis shows that political issues accounted for the vast majority of the spread, with 446 cases identified, representing approximately 86% of the total misinformation. Additionally, the organization identified 35 cases related to national issues, 16 international, 13 religious, 5 entertainment, 2 each for education and scams, and 2 other miscellaneous cases. Beyond regular fact-checks, December also saw the publication of one research paper, three fact stories, and one fact file.
Analysis of misinformation detected in December shows that data-centric errors were the most common (287), followed by 136 video-related and 98 image-related cases. Regarding the nature of the content, Rumor Scanner categorized 388 cases as completely false, 89 as distorted, 41 as misleading, 2 as partially false, and 1 as partially true.
Analyzing the identified misinformation, Rumor Scanner found that 408 instances involved men, while 168 cases targeted women. The data was also categorized into four age groups, revealing that youth (aged 18 to 35) were the most targeted, with 273 instances of misinformation involving them. Additionally, the analysis identified 8 cases involving children (aged 0 to 17), 123 cases involving middle-aged individuals (aged 36 to 59), and 268 cases involving the elderly (aged 60 or older).
In terms of platforms, Facebook saw the highest spread of misinformation last month, with 475 identified cases. Additionally, evidence of misinformation was found on Instagram (136 cases), TikTok (96), YouTube (57), X (42), Threads (at least 16), and LinkedIn (2). Local mainstream media was also not immune to this trend, as Rumor Scanner detected misinformation being published across several national news outlets in 20 incidents. During the same period, two instances of disinformation involving Bangladesh were identified in Indian media.
The issue of communal propaganda targeting Bangladesh has been a topic of significant discussion over the past several months. In December, Rumor Scanner identified six cases of communal propaganda. In five of these instances, evidence showed that the disinformation originated from social media accounts and pages identified as Indian.
Based on the observations of the Rumor Scanner team, seven instances of misinformation involving the current interim government were circulated in December. To understand the nature of these claims, Rumor Scanner categorized them into two groups: “positive” for misinformation favoring the government and “negative” for those against it. Our findings show that in approximately 86% of these cases, the government was presented in a negative light. Furthermore, 15 instances of misinformation were circulated regarding the Chief Adviser of the interim government, Dr. Muhammad Yunus, all of which portrayed him negatively.
Discussion regarding the 13th National Parliamentary Election is widespread, and over the past few months, there has been a significant rise in disinformation surrounding the polls. In December alone, 110 such instances of disinformation were identified.
An analysis of Rumor Scanner’s fact-checks from December reveals that among active political parties, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), its affiliate organizations, and its leaders were the primary targets of disinformation, with 214 cases recorded. Of these, 33 instances specifically targeted the BNP as a party, approximately 88% of which were designed to create a negative public perception. Furthermore, 68 instances of disinformation targeted the party’s Acting Chairman, Tarique Rahman, with 66% of those cases presenting him in a negative light. Additionally, one instance of disinformation involving the student wing, Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, was identified during this period.
Following Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, its affiliate organizations, and its leaders were the second most targeted by disinformation, with 175 cases identified. Among these, 62 instances of disinformation specifically targeted Jamaat as a party, approximately 84% of which were designed to create a negative public perception. During this period, 21 instances of disinformation involving the party’s Ameer, Dr. Shafiqur Rahman, were identified, with nearly 90% presenting him in a negative light. Additionally, 32 instances of disinformation were circulated involving Jamaat’s student wing, Bangladesh Islami Chhatra Shibir.
Furthermore, Rumor Scanner identified 38 instances of disinformation targeting the National Citizens Party (NCP) and its leaders in December. Of these, eight cases specifically involved the NCP as a party, all of which were designed to create a negative impression. During this time, five instances of disinformation were identified regarding the party’s convener, Nahid Islam, all of which portrayed him negatively.
In December, 154 instances of disinformation were circulated regarding the currently banned party, the Bangladesh Awami League, its affiliates, and its leaders. Among these, 39 cases targeted the Awami League as a party, with approximately 87% of them designed to create a positive impression of the party. Evidence was also found for 52 instances of disinformation involving party president Sheikh Hasina, nearly 94% of which were positive in nature. Additionally, 19 cases involving the party’s banned student wing, Bangladesh Chhatra League, and four cases involving the Jubo League were identified last month.
State forces have also not been immune to the surge of misinformation. In December, Rumor Scanner observed 18 instances of misinformation regarding the Bangladesh Army, including four specifically involving the Chief of Army Staff, General Waker-uz-Zaman. Furthermore, Rumor Scanner identified 19 cases of misinformation involving the Bangladesh Police, and two cases each involving the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB).
In analyzing the misinformation identified in December, Rumor Scanner found that 103 instances of fake content were created using artificial intelligence, including 10 identified deepfakes.
The month was dominated by misinformation surrounding six specific events or issues, most notably the murder of Inqilab Moncha spokesperson Sharif Osman Hadi, which triggered the highest volume of disinformation at 109 cases. Other significant topics included the return of Tarique Rahman to the country (34 cases), Khaleda Zia’s health (20 cases), Victory Day (12 cases), disinformation regarding Khaleda Zia’s death (5 cases), and the murder of Dipu Das in Mymensingh (2 cases).
In analyzing the misinformation trends for December, Rumor Scanner observed a resurgence in the use of media names, logos, headlines, and counterfeit or fake photocards to spread false information. This method was employed in 178 instances of misinformation involving 32 domestic and international media outlets across 159 separate incidents.
Issued by
Tanvir Mahatab Abir
Senior Fact Checker,
Rumor Scanner Bangladesh
[email protected]