BSS
  28 Sep 2025, 20:18

Indonesian protest video misrepresented as Khagrachari unrest: BanglaFact 

DHAKA, Sept 28, 2025 (BSS)– Fact-checking platform BanglaFact, operated by the Press Institute Bangladesh (PIB), has identified a misleading campaign on social media using Indonesian protest video, claiming the current unrest in Khagrachari.

The BanglaFact investigation team found that the misleading video was being widely disseminated on social media platforms, particularly Facebook. 

They mentioned that the claims accompanying the video asserted that shooting was ongoing at night in Khagrachari. 

This false information spread while Section 144 had been imposed in Khagrachari due to deteriorating law and order situation, they added. 

The team observed that the video was circulated by several Facebook pages and accounts affiliated with the Awami League.

BanglaFact’s verification process confirmed that the video is not from Khagrachari, but rather from Indonesia. 

The footage captures scenes from anti-government protests that occurred in late August in Indonesia, sparked by the rising cost of goods (commodity prices), it mentioned.

The fact-checking team employed reverse image searches using still frames from the video. This search led to the identification of the same video posted on August 31 on a Facebook account named 'Aung Zaw Myint,' which specifically captioned the incident as being in Indonesia. 

Additionally, another post by the Facebook account 'Eric Sua' also indicated the video originated in Indonesia.

Crucial visual evidence found during the investigation included a vehicle visible in the footage bearing the inscription 'BRIMOB'. Further inquiry revealed that 'BRIMOB' is the acronym for the Mobile Brigade Corps, a paramilitary specialized unit operating under the Indonesian police.

BanglaFact officially designated the claim—that the Indonesian protest footage was from Bangladesh—as false.