Fact Check: Unrelated Video Shared As Hindus Trying To Flee Bangladesh On Ferries

Fact Check: An unrelated and old video is being shared on social media with false claim that Hindus in Bangladesh are trying to flee country on ferries amid unrest.

An old video has been falsely shared as Hindus trying to flee Bangladesh on ferries amid unrest.

Source : X/@meMajda

The Verdict [False]

A video from April 2024 is being falsely passed off as recent visuals of Hindus in Bangladesh trying to flee amid violent protests.

What’s the claim? 

Many social media users are sharing a 29-second video clip, claiming it is recent footage from Bangladesh showing Hindus attempting to flee the country due to ongoing violence. An X (formerly Twitter) user shared the viral video with a caption in Arabic that translates to: “Bangladesh. Thousands of Hindus are attempting to escape their homeland due to massacres by Islamists.” This post garnered over a million views at the time of writing this story. Links to archived versions of the posts are available here and here.

Screenshot of claims made online. (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, the video predates the ongoing violence in Bangladesh.

What we found

By conducting a reverse image search with the keyframes from the viral clip, Logically Facts found a longer version of the viral clip posted on Facebook (archived here) by a user called ‘Extreme Launch Lover’ on April 29, 2024. The clip had a Bangla caption that translates to, “The launches leave thousands of passengers on the roof. Country: Bangladesh.”

Further investigation revealed an image posted by the same Facebook (archived here) account on April 8, 2024, with a caption in Bangla, which read, “At this moment there is a lot of passenger pressure at Dhaka Sadarghat.” The image featured visuals similar to the viral clip, including docked ferries and a red-roofed ferry with smoke emanating from it as seen in the viral video.

Comparison of the viral clip and the April 2024 image. (Source: Facebook/Extreme Launch Lover)

We also discovered numerous Facebook posts featuring the same video, dating back to May 2024, claiming that the visuals depict crowded ferries during Eid. While Logically Facts could not independently verify when and where the video was captured, the video predates the protests in Bangladesh, which began in June 2024. Hindus and minority groups have been subject to attacks amid the unrest. The newly formed interim government said it has noted the targeted attacks with "grave concern." 

The ongoing unrest in Bangladesh:

• As of August 12, 2024, more than 450 people have been killed in Bangladesh following the violent protest.

• On August 8, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus was sworn in as the head of the interim government in Bangladesh, after Sheikh Hasina resigned as prime minister and left the country on August 5.

• The ongoing unrest in Bangladesh is attributed to the quota reform movement, which began in June 2024 with protesters calling for nationwide civil disobedience and the resignation of Prime Minister Hasina and her cabinet. 

The verdict

This video has been online since April 2024 and has no connection to the recent unrest in Bangladesh.

(This report first appeared on logicallyfacts.com, and has been republished on ABP Live as part of a special arrangement. ABP Live has edited the headline and feature image of the report while republishing)