Mirza Fakhrul did not praise Sheikh Hasina in parliament
Graphics: Agamir Somoy
A video has recently circulated on social media claiming that BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir praised former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in Parliament. The caption accompanying the video claims, “Development like Sheikh Hasina’s will not happen even in the next 100 years; Mirza Fakhrul took charge of the Awami League in Parliament.”
However, an investigation found that the claim is false and fabricated. The misleading video was created by editing together footage of a speech by Mirza Fakhrul about the contributions of former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia with footage from a different context.
What Is Being Claimed?
The video was uploaded on August 9 by a YouTube channel named “Bijoy shorts yt.” As of the writing of this report, the video had received more than 3,500 reactions. The investigation found that the same YouTube channel had previously posted similar content making the same claim with an identical caption. The same video was also uploaded on a Facebook page named “Bijoy Newsroom” with the caption, “Development like Sheikh Hasina’s will not happen even in the next 100 years.”
At the beginning of the video, Mirza Fakhrul Alamgir can be heard saying:
“I will not say much. I will just say a few things. When she was the prime minister, we saw that when she was in government, she carried out such initiatives. She played a groundbreaking role in the development of women in Bangladesh.”
In another scene in the video, opposition leaders can be seen chanting slogans calling Sheikh Hasina an accomplice of fascism. An audio recording by a narrator is then added to claim that Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir regarded Sheikh Hasina as a role model for development.What Actually Happened?
A reverse image search conducted to verify the claim found an original video published on March 12 on the official YouTube channel of Somoy TV. The statements in the viral video’s audio and visuals exactly match portions of the original video at 2 minutes 30 seconds and 2 minutes 47 seconds.
However, in the original speech, Mirza Fakhrul was not praising Sheikh Hasina. He was praising Begum Khaleda Zia. He highlighted Begum Khaleda Zia’s outstanding contributions to establishing democracy, press freedom, women’s development and economic reforms.A reverse image search of a still image from the opposition leaders’ slogan scene also found a video published on March 12 by the Star News YouTube channel. The video stated, “Opposition parties walk out during the president’s address.”
Therefore, after analyzing all available information and evidence, it is clear that the claim that Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir praised former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in Parliament is not true.
