A record 2,919 pieces of false information were spread in Bangladesh in 2024, according to fact-checking organization Rumor Scanner.
The organization published a report on its website on Wednesday detailing this data.
The report said that it all began with the 12th National Parliamentary Election.
Over time, various issues continued to arise, accompanied by a regular flow of misinformation.
Then came the historic months of July and August.
Following the quota reform movement, the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government was ousted in a student-led uprising.
After the end of Awami League's long rule, power was handed over to an interim government led by Dr Yunus.
Following the transfer of power, communal propaganda about Bangladesh was widely spread by various Indian media outlets and accounts on X (formerly Twitter). Amid such events, 2024 came to an end.
Over the past year, Rumor Scanner worked tirelessly to identify and combat the flow of misinformation, detecting a record 2,919 cases of false information.
In the previous year, 2023, the organization had identified 1,915 false claims.
This marked an increase of nearly 52% in false information within a year.
The report further revealed that platforms like YouTube, Facebook, and X were the primary sources of misinformation.
Facebook, the most popular and widely used social media platform in Bangladesh under Meta, had 2,330 instances of false information identified in 2024.
On average, more than six false pieces of information were spread daily on this platform.
YouTube came second, with 565 instances of misinformation identified.
The short-video sharing platform TikTok was not far behind, with 509 cases of false information recorded within just six months.
On X (formerly Twitter), a significant number of misinformation campaigns targeted Bangladesh, with Rumor Scanner identifying 201 such cases and publishing reports about them.
Other platforms, being relatively less popular in Bangladesh, had lower rates of misinformation.
However, traditional media outlets also contributed to the spread of misinformation.
Last year, 151 cases of false information were identified in reports published by national media outlets.