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Social media video does not show 2022 fuel protests in BD, it dates to 2013

Published : Sunday, 14 August, 2022 at 12:00 AM  Count : 568

Screenshot from the fuel protest march video of 2013. 	photo : Reuters

Screenshot from the fuel protest march video of 2013. photo : Reuters

Social media users discussing August fuel hike protests in Bangladesh have mistakenly shared unrelated footage from 2013, suggesting it is from 2022.
The video shows people looking at objects on fire in the street and launching projectiles, as well as police officers deploying tear gas.
"Bangladeshďż˝ protests and hard clashes have erupted in several cities after the government has decided to increase petrol prices by 51% and diesel by 42% effective midnightďż˝. Huge lines are reported at petrol stations all over Bangladesh," wrote one Twitter user who shared the video on Aug. 7. The tweet has been liked thousands of times.
Another iteration on Facebook includes the caption: �BANGLADESH� protests and hard clashes have erupted in several cities after the government has decided to increase PETROL & DIESEL prices ...".
Bangladesh raised fuel prices by around 50% on Aug. 6, a move that will trim the country's subsidy burden but put more pressure on inflation that is already running above 7%. The South Asian country's $416 billion economy has been one of the fastest growing in the world for years. However, soaring energy and food prices due to the Russia-Ukraine war have inflated its import bill, forcing the government to seek loans from global agencies, including the International Monetary Fund. The price for petrol was increased by 51.2% to 130 taka ($1.38) a litre, 95-octane gasoline by 51.7% to 135 taka and diesel and kerosene by 42.5%, the power, energy and mineral resources ministry said in a statement.
According to local media, people have indeed been protesting against the hike.
However, a reverse image search shows that the video is not related to the 2022 demonstrations.
The video can be traced back to May 2013 and a violent protest against an anti-blasphemy law in Bangladesh .
On May 6, 2013, at least 20 Bangladeshis were killed in clashes between police and hardline Islamists who were demanding religious reforms.
The clashes began on May 5 after 200,000 Islamist supporters marched in Dhaka to press demands that critics said would amount to the "Talibanisation" of a country that maintains secularism as state policy. However, the protesters were met by lines of police firing teargas and rubber bullets.    -Reuters










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