Fact-Check: Viral Video Showing Arson and Riots in Bangladesh Is Nine Years Old

The 2013 video shows people demanding a blasphemy law, clashing with security forces in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

The video shows a the government cracking down on protests in Bangladesh's Dhaka in 2013.

(Source: Twitter/Altered by The Quint)

A viral video showing arson, rioting, and violent protests is being widely shared on social media, claiming that it shows visuals from the ongoing protests against a 52 percent hike in fuel prices in Bangladesh.

The video shows security personnel in riot gear shooting at protesters, who are seen pelting stones and running amok.

However, the video is nine years old and shows violence erupting in Dhaka, Bangladesh, over a religious group called Hefazat-e-Islam's demand for a new blasphemy law in the country.

As per reports, the group demanded that those speaking against Islam be tried under Islamic (Sharia) law, and the police raided the religious group's headquarters.

CLAIM

Several verified social media users, including Hindi media organisation ABP Live, shared visuals from the clip, claiming that they showed the recent developments in Bangladesh.

(Note: Swipe right to view both claims.)

An archive of this claim can be seen here.

An archive of this bulletin can be seen here.

Archives of more posts sharing the video with the same claim can be seen here, here, and here.

WHAT WE FOUND OUT

Using InVID, a video verification tool, we divided the viral video into multiple keyframes to run reverse image searches on some of them. Through TinEye, we came across the same photo shared in an article by Sky News Arabia.

The report carried the same visuals in 2013.

(Source: Twitter/SkyNewsArabia/Altered by The Quint)

This article discussed violence and death marring Bangladesh's capital city of Dhaka amid calls for a strike, and was published in 2013.

The article was published in 2013.

(Source: SkyNewsArabia/Altered by The Quint)

Taking a cue from this, we ran a keyword search on YouTube for 'Bangladesh 2013 protests.' The results led us to an Al Jazeera video published on 6 May 2013, which carried segments of the viral video in its bulletin, starting 34 seconds into the report.

The video mentioned that the government and security forces had cracked down on violent protesters, after they demanded a new blasphemy law. Under this law, they demanded that the offenders be tried under Islamic (Sharia) law, after a religious group called Hefazat-e-Islam called for the same.

It added that the police, due to escalating tensions, had raided the protest group's office and taken their leader away.

The protests left at least 27 dead across the country, according to the BBC. "Tens of thousands of Islamists" had gathered in the capital, raising chants such as "Hang the atheists," the report mentioned.

Citing Dhaka's Daily Star newspaper as the source, the BBC said that the Hefazat-e-Islam group had hired "at least 3,000 vehicles, including buses, lorries, and minibuses" to transport protesters into the capital.

Clearly, a nine-year-old video of violent clashes between protesters and security forces in Bangladesh's Dhaka is being falsely linked to the country's ongoing protests against a hike in fuel prices.

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