Araştırma Makalesi

Synthetic Politics and Counter-Framing: AI-Generated Misinformation and Fact-Checking in Bangladesh's 2025-2026 Election Cycle

Sayı: 32 4 Eylül 2026
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Synthetic Politics and Counter-Framing: AI-Generated Misinformation and Fact-Checking in Bangladesh's 2025-2026 Election Cycle

Öz

This study examines how artificial intelligence (AI)-generated and digitally manipulated political misinformation circulated in Bangladesh’s pre-election information environment between August 2024 and February 2026, and how fact-checking organisations responded through counter-framing. Combining qualitative framing analysis with descriptive content coding, it draws on the published aggregate datasets of nine Bangladesh-focused verification organisations, covering 4,131 unique misinformation items in 2025 and 1,185 political cases during the 2026 election cycle, alongside a register of verified open fact-checks. The findings show that synthetic media did not replace older manipulation techniques. Instead, it combined with recycled footage, fabricated photocards, fake quotations and partisan amplification to form a hybrid misinformation system. Around 10% of unique items in 2025 involved AI, and roughly 12% of election-related cases were AI-generated, most of them video. The individuals most frequently named included Sheikh Hasina, Muhammad Yunus, Sharif Osman Bin Hadi, Tarique Rahman and Hasnat Abdullah, while the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and the interim government carried the heaviest party-level burden. A directional reading shows that content around Sheikh Hasina was mostly favourable, whereas content around the interim government was mostly hostile. The paper argues that AI shifted misinformation from evidential falsification toward synthetic plausibility, making counter-framing dependent on forensic verification and rapid public explanation.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Kaynakça

  1. Ajker Patrika. (2026, February 10). Shakib Khan is shown in an AI-generated video from a Jamaat election campaign. https://www.ajkerpatrika.com/fact-check/fact-check-national/ajpggc03gc6e7
  2. Al-Zaman, M. S. (2019). Digital disinformation and communalism in Bangladesh. China Media Research, 15(2), 68–76.
  3. Al-Zaman, M. S., Sife, S. A., Sultana, M., Akbar, M., Ahona, K. T. S., & Sarkar, N. (2020). Social media rumors in Bangladesh. Journal of Information Science Theory and Practice, 8(3), 77–90. https://doi.org/10.1633/JISTaP.2020.8.3.6
  4. Amazeen, M. A. (2020). Journalistic interventions: The structural factors affecting the global emergence of fact-checking. Journalism, 21(1), 95–111. https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884917730217
  5. Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha. (2025, May 1). Rumor Scanner detects 296 misinformation cases in April. https://www.bssnews.net/news/top-news/268846
  6. BOOM. (2025, February 18). Sheikh Hasina's 'Aynaghor confession' was fabricated using a cloned-voice deepfake. https://www.boomlive.in/fact-check/sheikh-hasina-false-bangladesh-aynaghor-confession-deepfake-analysis-27795
  7. Chadwick, A. (2017). The hybrid media system: Politics and power (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190696726.001.0001
  8. Chesney, R., & Citron, D. K. (2019). Deep fakes: A looming challenge for privacy, democracy, and national security. California Law Review, 107(6), 1753–1819. https://doi.org/10.15779/Z38RV0D15J

Ayrıntılar

Birincil Dil

İngilizce

Konular

Gazetecilik, Sosyal Medya Çalışmaları, Yeni Medya

Bölüm

Araştırma Makalesi

Yayımlanma Tarihi

4 Eylül 2026

Gönderilme Tarihi

6 Haziran 2026

Kabul Tarihi

10 Ağustos 2026

Yayımlandığı Sayı

Yıl 2026 Sayı: 32

Kaynak Göster

APA
Rahman, M. (2026). Synthetic Politics and Counter-Framing: AI-Generated Misinformation and Fact-Checking in Bangladesh’s 2025-2026 Election Cycle. Communicata, 32, 43-63. https://doi.org/10.32952/communicata.1965352
AMA
1.Rahman M. Synthetic Politics and Counter-Framing: AI-Generated Misinformation and Fact-Checking in Bangladesh’s 2025-2026 Election Cycle. Communicata. 2026;(32):43-63. doi:10.32952/communicata.1965352
Chicago
Rahman, Moshiur. 2026. “Synthetic Politics and Counter-Framing: AI-Generated Misinformation and Fact-Checking in Bangladesh’s 2025-2026 Election Cycle”. Communicata, sy 32: 43-63. https://doi.org/10.32952/communicata.1965352.
EndNote
Rahman M (01 Eylül 2026) Synthetic Politics and Counter-Framing: AI-Generated Misinformation and Fact-Checking in Bangladesh’s 2025-2026 Election Cycle. Communicata 32 43–63.
IEEE
[1]M. Rahman, “Synthetic Politics and Counter-Framing: AI-Generated Misinformation and Fact-Checking in Bangladesh’s 2025-2026 Election Cycle”, Communicata, sy 32, ss. 43–63, Eyl. 2026, doi: 10.32952/communicata.1965352.
ISNAD
Rahman, Moshiur. “Synthetic Politics and Counter-Framing: AI-Generated Misinformation and Fact-Checking in Bangladesh’s 2025-2026 Election Cycle”. Communicata. 32 (01 Eylül 2026): 43-63. https://doi.org/10.32952/communicata.1965352.
JAMA
1.Rahman M. Synthetic Politics and Counter-Framing: AI-Generated Misinformation and Fact-Checking in Bangladesh’s 2025-2026 Election Cycle. Communicata. 2026;:43–63.
MLA
Rahman, Moshiur. “Synthetic Politics and Counter-Framing: AI-Generated Misinformation and Fact-Checking in Bangladesh’s 2025-2026 Election Cycle”. Communicata, sy 32, Eylül 2026, ss. 43-63, doi:10.32952/communicata.1965352.
Vancouver
1.Moshiur Rahman. Synthetic Politics and Counter-Framing: AI-Generated Misinformation and Fact-Checking in Bangladesh’s 2025-2026 Election Cycle. Communicata. 01 Eylül 2026;(32):43-6. doi:10.32952/communicata.1965352

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