Initiative Taken to Establish Integrated Fact-Checking Framework to Detect Misinformation: Yaser Khan Chowdhury

An initiative has been taken to establish an integrated fact-checking framework within the government’s information system to identify false and misleading information that spreads rapidly on social media. Information and Broadcasting State Minister Yaser Khan Chowdhury said 137 fake Facebook accounts, pages and groups operated using the name and photo of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman have already been identified.
Information and Broadcasting State Minister Yaser Khan Chowdhury said the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) does not operate any Bot force. Therefore, comparatively fewer instances of bot use have been found against the BNP. A project has been undertaken to conduct automated fact-checking to prevent misinformation and misleading information.

The state minister gave the written reply on behalf of Minister Andaliv Rahman Partha in the absence of the minister at the National Parliament on Wednesday. The information was provided in response to a written question from parliament member Md. Rashedul Islam Rashed. Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed presided over the session. The state minister said an initiative has been taken to establish an integrated fact-checking framework within the government’s information system to identify false and misleading information spreading rapidly on social media.

The Information Directorate (PID), under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, has already established an integrated fact-checking and information verification framework. A central “Fact-Checking and Rumour Prevention Committee” is operating round the clock at the PID headquarters. Under the committee’s direction, the headquarters and regional information offices in divisional cities monitor social media and online platforms.
It was also stated that after rapidly identifying misinformation and rumours, the PID and regional information offices publish government fact-check messages containing objective information and clarification notices through their websites, social media platforms and the mass media.

The written reply said the Press Institute Bangladesh (PIB), under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, is conducting fact-checking and media analysis activities to prevent rumours and misleading information on social media.

The PIB’s fact-checking unit, BanglaFact, has so far published 860 fact-checks, analyses, investigative reports, videos and reels. Of these, 306 were produced after the current government assumed office.
In addition, the PIB’s training department provided training to 6,774 journalists through 141 training workshops in 64 districts from October 1, 2024, to June 2026. After the current government assumed office, a total of 739 people were trained through 20 programmes. Of these, 14 training programmes focused on digital journalism, AI and fact-checking.

Such training programmes will gradually be organised in every district of the country. Over the past two years, every training programme organised by the PIB has included at least one day of training on countering rumours, fact-checking and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in journalism.
The state minister said BanglaFact has identified 137 fake Facebook accounts, pages and groups operated using the name and photo of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman. In addition, BanglaFact has identified 16 websites that imitate newspapers and television channels to spread propaganda and misinformation.
More than 300 Facebook accounts and 100 X accounts that spread misleading and false information have also been identified. BanglaFact currently verifies an average of three to five claims every day and publishes reports, reels and videos based on the findings.