No sooner had we seen the abrupt fall of the Awami League, the propaganda machines begun to work on cue on social media, particularly on X (formerly known as Twitter). The celebratory mood on August 5 was soon overshadowed by reports of vandalism, looting, and attacks on minority groups and establishments. The truth was co-opted by obviously partisan interest groups and their bots on the internet. In one sickening example, the looters who had broken into the Gonobhaban and shamelessly paraded around the lingerie they grabbed were soon transformed by suspicious accounts on X into "militants" and "Islamists" who had snatched away the undergarments of minority Hindu women after terrorising them—how does one even begin to unravel such distortions?

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There is, firstly, no defense for what these people did, turning celebratory zeal into an uncomfortable display of perversion. The ease with which people reacted to such images (without the need for a distortion of narrative) on social media makes one wonder how we are to mature as a nation when this is entertainment for us. Secondly, whatever the real circumstances were, the disinformation campaign that swiftly went to work, made sure to take full advantage to make it an issue of sectarian violence. The relentless posting and sharing of outright lies would put any sane person trying to counter them feel like they were being swept against an unsurmountable wave, and it was not that hard to see why that was so. A lot of the accounts that propagate these are obvious bots or fakes run by a motley of individuals with geopolitical agendas. When falsehoods such as the one mentioned above were being rained upon, many countered by sharing accounts of madrasa students guarding temples from rioters and other criminals, showing the international audience on X that minorities were not being targeted by everyone, but a small group of opportunists. But the grassroots, organic campaign online had to be on the defense by nature. It is impossible to argue with bots, grifters and cronies, let alone stay visible enough on people's screens before being washed away under their sheer size of lies. It is, one realises soon, a pointless endeavour.

But who are the perpetuators of these false narratives and who are their principle recipients? The latter is easy to answer, the former not so much. The purported markers of these accounts are staunchly right-wing and provide Indian identities, with a vast number of them regularly espousing Hindutva and pro-Modi sentiment. The purpose of establishing a narrative of chaos in Bangladesh right after the removal of the Awami League looks to bolster the narrative that has long been touted by pro-Modi media, that the geopolitical situations in South Asia leaves no alternative but Sheikh Hasina, that it is only she who can keep the separatists of the seven sister states out of operation in Bangladesh, keep the Islamists at ab arm's length of power and protect the Hindu minority at all costs. And now that she is gone, look what has happened within hours.

The reason why this is dangerous is because the emotional frame is so forceful that those spreading the lies need not dwell much on the nuances and logic of their tales. When a person sees the fellow members of the same faith being targeted solely due to their identity, it is bound to elicit sympathy and an eagerness to combat the hatred. When you go counter the claims, you have already lost their target audience as you are part of the enemy just by being on the other side of the line. The propaganda on X is geared not at Bangladeshis, but at an international audience. It is an attempt to discredit any reality that does not include the dominant narratives that we have seen in the last decade and a half.

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The sadness of this is that it takes attention away from the actual cases of attacks on minorities. As the Daily Star reported on August 6, 2024, Hindu houses and businesses had been attacked in many districts all over the country. That very real fear that minorities had been going through these past few days cannot be brushed aside for the time being while there is a rebuilding of the nation. Safeguarding their rights to live just as any other person in the country is the very essence of this rebuilding. The insidious nature of social media propaganda is that even as we counter outright lies, the use of hashtags such as #HindusAreSafeinBangladesh belie a history of discrimination and gross bigotry toward minorities that this country is still not interested in acknowledging post-independence.

The disinformation game is now increasingly a part of our political makeup. It is unrealistic to assume it can be fought through regular humans playing defense on their screens.

Shahriar Shaams is a contributor at The Daily Star. His Instagram handle is @shahriar.shaams

Views expressed in this article are the author's own.

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