Video From Bangladesh Falsely Shared As Violence In Malda, West Bengal

A video of a violent protest in Bangladesh is viral with a false claim that they are recent scenes from the March 27 communal violence reported from Malda, West Bengal in India.

BOOM found that the video is not from India and shows a November 2023 protest by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), in Sylhet district of the country, that turned violent.

Communal clashes broke out in Mothabari of Malda, West Bengal on March 27. The situation in the region remains tense with local reporters confirming presence of additional forces and suspension of internet services in the region.

A viral 14-second video of people vandalising vehicles on the street including setting ablaze an ambulance is being shared with the false claim, "Attacks on Hindus in Malda, West Bengal." The claim further asks Home Minister Amit Shah to take action.

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Fact Check

BOOM was able to verify that the viral video is from Bangladesh and not from West Bengal.

We first ran a reverse image search on keyframes from the video and found the same video uploaded in November 26, 2023 by a Bangladeshi Facebook page claiming the incident is from a protest in Sylhet district.

Using a related keyword search, we found a story on the incident published in Bengali by a local Bangladeshi news outlet The Daily Sylhet Mirror on November 26, 2023. The news story included a screenshot from the viral video and reported that protesters from the BNP and other allied parties, set fire to ambulances and other vehicle in the Subid Bazar area of the city.

The incident was reported by several Bangladeshi news outlets, including Prothom Alo and DBC News, on November 27, 2023. The video report by Prothom Alo included below, carries the same visual as in the viral video.