Foreign link to social media posts fanning anti-Hasina sentiment exposed

The fast-moving developments in Bangladesh, including removal of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, have highlighted how social media was manipulated to manufacture public discourse in Bangladesh with dangerous implications.

- ABHINANDAN MISHRA

As per a probe by nonofficial entities, who keep an eye on the geo-political developments, during the Bangladesh Quota Reform protests, social media activity critical of the ruling Awami League and its leader, Sheikh Hasina, was being governed from outside Bangladesh.

A significant volume of posts, videos depicting violence against protesters, and posters demonising Sheikh Hasina were traced back to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its affiliated accounts.

Most importantly, many of these accounts and their content were being amplified by users based in the United States.

Hasina and her supporters, for a long time now, have been raising concerns about Washington not being happy with Hasina and had claimed that exercise at multiple levels were being carried out since the last two years to remove her.