Video of burning house near Ijtema ground misleading: Rumor Scanner
DHAKA, Dec 19, 2024 (BSS) – Fact-checking agency Rumor Scanner in Bangladesh called as misleading the video claiming that houses are set on fire near Ijtema ground in Tongi, saying the viral fire incident was from Rohingya camp last June.
“The old video footage of the Cox’s Bazar Rohingya camp fire has been circulated claiming that it is a scene where houses were burnt near the Tongi Ijtema ground which is misleading,” it said, explaining the real fire incident on its website on Wednesday.
The fact-checking organization in an investigation found a video dated July 2 last year with the caption “sudden fire in Cox’s Bazar Rohingya camp” circulated by a Facebook account named MD Rabbi Khan in a Facebook group called “Our Rajshahi”.
Rumor Scanner identified similarities by comparing the July 2 video with the latest viral video on social media which confirmed that the video of the fire incident is not new.
In addition, a news video was found on the YouTube channel of mainstream media Ekattor TV, titled “Horrible fire in Rohingya camp; more than two hundred houses burned”, which was broadcast on June 1 this year.
A video was also seen circulating on June 2 this year, mentioning a fire scene in the Rohingya camp in Cox’s Bazar, from a Facebook account named Md Yusuf, which turned out to be similar to the viral video claiming the near Ijtema soil.
Further investigation confirmed a news report published on 1 June in mainstream media Prothom Alo that a fire broke out in a Rohingya refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar that day. The report revealed that “another fire broke out at Tanjimarkhola refugee camp (Camp-13) in Palangkhali Union, Ukhiya, Cox’s Bazar. The fire broke out at D-3 block of the refugee camp around 1 pm on Saturday (June 1)”.
The rumor scanner did not even find any link between the audio used in the viral video and the Rohingya camp fire incident. It appears that the audio from another incident has been added to this video using technology.
It is mentioned that a child died in a fire in a house in Dattapara Haji Market area of Tongi, Gazipur around 9:30 pm yesterday (December 17). Seven tin shed rooms in the house were burned in the fire.
Meanwhile, there were incidents of attacks and clashes between the followers of Maulana Zubair and Maulana Saad Kandhalvi over control of the Tongi Ijtema ground in Gazipur, but no incident of fire was reported at that place, the fact-checking agency said.
It concluded that the old footage of the Cox’s Bazar Rohingya camp fire has been faked as a place where houses are set on fire near the Tongi Ijtema ground; which is misleading.
