The local ethical hacking group Cyber 71 has strongly refuted claims made by State Minister Zunaid Ahmed Palak, who accused them of spreading false information amidst a national crisis. 

In a recent media briefing, Zunaid Ahmed Palak, the State Minister of  Posts, Telecommunications & Information Technology of Bangladesh, shared screenshots of "fake news", apparently shared by the Facebook page of Cyber 71. The post shown in the press briefing, seemingly shared by Cyber 71, claims that the number of deaths has reached over 900, adding national daily Prothom Alo as a source for the news. However, the group claims that those pages are fake. 

In an official statement, the group states that they have been targeted by a criminal syndicate spreading misinformation under their name. To prevent further misuse, the group has informed all members and alerted various law enforcement agencies about the fake pages using the group's name. Cyber 71 added that any verified information from them is only available through their official page and group on Facebook.

In the ongoing national crisis, Cyber 71 emphasised that it is important to check for misinformation before sharing it online. As such, they have publicly urged Palak and relevant cybercrime departments to collaborate in identifying the individuals behind the fake pages and seek appropriate action. 

Cyber 71 is an "ethical hackers community" based in Bangladesh that has reportedly been involved in a number of hacking-related incidents, including claiming to have hacked as many as 10 French commercial websites in 2020. Their official Facebook group 'Cyber 71, We Work to protect Bangladesh' was launched in 2018 and currently has around 1.5 million members.