Recently, Hasnat Abdullah, a southern regional organizer of the National Citizen Party, alleged in a Facebook post that the Awami League is planning a rehabilitation effort from within the cantonment. Following this, social media began circulating a claim that Bangladesh Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman died in a road accident. This claim was propagated through a photocard designed to mimic the style of the mainstream media outlet RTV.
Fact-check
Rumor Scanner Team's investigation reveals that the claim about the army chief dying in a road accident is false. RTV did not publish any photocard or news report supporting the claim. Rather, digital manipulation was used to replicate the design of RTV’s photocard, thereby fabricating the false claim. In other words, RTV never published any such photocard.
Additionally, no other credible media outlets have reported any information supporting the claim. Tracing the origin of the rumor shows that the first possible post was made on Facebook by an account named Khalid Rahman after 3 p.m. on March 21. This individual, identified as a designer by profession, shared the fabricated photocard claiming General Waker’s death on his personal profile and in several Facebook groups. See here and here.
Furthermore, approximately four hours after posting the initial fake photocard, the same individual shared another doctored photocard using the same image of the army chief. This second fabricated post falsely claimed that during the postmortem of General Waker-Uz-Zaman, 16 tolas of gold were recovered from his stomach.
At the beginning of the investigation, the fake photocard in question was examined. It was found to contain RTV’s logo and displayed a publication date of Saturday, March 21, 2025.
In light of this, the photocard archives on RTV’s official Facebook page were reviewed, but no such photocard supporting the claim could be found. Likewise, no related news or photocard was located on RTV’s official website or YouTube channel. Additionally, it was observed that RTV’s official photocards generally do not include the day of the week besides the date. However, the fabricated photocard included both. Therefore, the photocard circulated under RTV’s name, claiming the death of Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman is entirely false and fabricated.
Original News Source: https://rumorscanner.com/fact-check/fake-rtv-photocard-claiming-waker-uz-zaman-death/143638
Clickbait chaos: The viral loop of fake news in the age of algorithms
Filtering out the truth from a sea of misinformation
Fact-checking: A pressing necessity in Bangladesh
From rumors to real-world consequences: The perils of misinformation
Separating fact from fiction
Misinformation and disinformation: A threat to democracy in Bangladesh
Fact-Check Alert
Please be aware of misleading information about Bangladesh politics on social media and verify sources before sharing.
Before sharing any photocard, always verify it by checking the original media source.
Sharing religious misinformation and disinformation can cause harm. Always verify before sharing.
Before sharing any photocard, always verify it by checking the original media source.
Sharing religious misinformation and disinformation can cause harm. Always verify before sharing.