Photo : Bangla Fact

DHAKA, April 29, 2025 (BSS) - A recent report by the online news portal BD Digest claiming that Bangladesh has lost control over its border with Myanmar has been found to be misleading and factually incorrect.

The article, published on April 28 with the headline ‘Finally, After Four Months, Foreign Affairs Adviser Admits Loss of Border Control’ asserts that Bangladesh has admitted to losing control of its Myanmar border and attributes this to a “recent” statement by the Foreign Affairs Adviser. 

However, the reference to “after four months” is left unexplained and misleadingly framed, according to a newly published report by fact-checking organization Bangla Fact.

An investigation by Bangla Fact reveals that the statement in question dates back to December 22, 2024, four months after the interim government assumed office. 

During a meeting in Thailand, Foreign Affairs Adviser Touhid Hossain had told Myanmar’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Than Swe: “You no longer have control over your side of the border. It has fallen under the authority of non-state actors. As a state, we cannot engage with non-state actors.”

In this context, it is clear that the adviser was referring to Myanmar’s loss of control over its own territory—not Bangladesh’s.
 
BD Digest distorted this statement to create a false impression that Bangladesh had admitted to losing control of its own border.

The misleading interpretation initially appeared on December 22 last year on the website of Ekushey Television under the headline ‘Border Falls Under Control of Non-State Actors: Touhid Hossain’.

On April 28, the headline was stealthily edited to read ‘Myanmar’s Border Falls Under Control of Non-State Actors: Touhid Hossain’, correcting the previously misleading framing.

Further background checks on BD Digest reveal that the portal launched on August 15, 2024, and has gone through multiple identity changes on Facebook. 

Initially named ‘Edit lew Fan’s Bangladesh’, it was later renamed to ‘Rubel Miah Official’, ‘Ekla Jibon’, and eventually, ‘Hidayet’. Since October 15, the page has been operating under the name BDDIGEST.

According to Facebook’s page transparency data, the page is administered from Bangladesh, Germany, Canada, and Sweden. Several live videos hosted on the page featured Kazi Mamun, a Canada-based Awami League activist, suggesting he is one of its administrators.

The page also created events promoting Awami League’s official programme for Shaheed Noor Hossain Day, further reinforcing its political alignment. 

BD Digest has earlier published disinformation that has been widely shared by Awami League activists and even by prominent figures such as Sajeeb Wazed Joy, highlighting its role as a propaganda and misinformation outlet aligned with the Awami League.