“We are noticing a huge amount of fake information compared to other times,” said Miraj Ahmed Chowdhury, head of the Dhaka-based research organisation Digitally Right, saying free AI tools made creating sophisticated fakes easier.
In another AI-generated video, Bangladeshis appear to praise Hasina – now a fugitive who was sentenced to death in absentia for crimes against humanity.
In India, social media outrage by Hindu fundamentalists about the lone Bangladeshi cricket player in India’s domestic IPL league resulted in his club cancelling his contract – a furore that escalated to Bangladesh’s national team pulling out of this month’s T20 World Cup in India.
But while analysts say much of the disinformation originates from India, there is no evidence that the large-scale media posts were organised by the government.
New Delhi’s foreign ministry says it has recorded a “disturbing pattern of recurring attacks on minorities” by “extremists in Bangladesh”, but also emphasises it has “consistently reiterated our position in favour of free, fair, inclusive and credible elections”.
“BIG THREAT”
Bangladesh Election Commission spokesman Md Ruhul Amin Mallik said they were working with Facebook’s parent company, Meta, and set up a unit to monitor social media posts – but coping with the sheer volume online is a never-ending task.
“If our team detects any content as harmful and misleading, we instantly announce it as fake information,” Mallik said.
Election expert Jasmine Tuli, a former election commission official, said that AI-generated images carried an extra risk for Bangladesh.
More than 80 per cent of urban households have at least one smartphone, and nearly 70 per cent of rural areas, according to government statistics – but many people are still relatively new to the technology.
“It is a big threat for a country like Bangladesh, since people don’t have much awareness to check the information,” Tuli said.
“Due to AI-generated fake visuals, voters get misguided in their decision.”
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/disinformation-ahead-bangladesh-election-5916721
