Disinformation Campaigns in Bangladeshi Media Targeting the Arakan Army

News Analysis

Global Arakan Network October 13, 2025

Certain social media platforms in Bangladesh, particularly those using the Bengali language, frequently spread false narratives about Arakan Army (AA) soldiers fleeing into Bangladesh due to alleged moral collapse on the battlefield or being arrested within the country in connection with the AA.

Such fake news and disinformation are prevalent on Bengali social media due to growing anti-Arakan and anti-AA sentiments among Bengali Muslims in both Bangladesh and Arakan.

Observations indicate that key political and religious institutions in Bangladesh, such as the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), and extremist Islamist groups like Jamaat-e-Islami, are actively working to mobilize the Bengali populace. These entities aim to garner votes or deflect attention from their political and policy failures by scapegoating external actors like the AA. Additionally, some Islamic Bengali factions, known for their anti-Buddhist and anti-Christian sentiments, have been linked to violence in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT).

An emerging pattern of disinformation against the AA seeks to inflame sentiments among Bengalis by suggesting that attacks by terrorist groups like the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) and Rohingya Solidarity Organization (RSO) against the AA are succeeding, thereby rallying broader Bengali support for these groups. Below are prominent examples of such disinformation:

1. August 11, 2025 – The Daily Star Report A news report by The Daily Star claimed: “Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) today detained an armed member of the Arakan Army after he crossed into Bangladesh from Myanmar through the Balukhali border in Ukhiya, Cox’s Bazar.

   The detainee, Jiban Tonchongya, 21, from Gorjbonia village in Naikhongchhari upazila of Bandarban district, identified himself as a member of the Arakan Army, according to the BGB, adding that he sought refuge.”

   In reality, the individual was not affiliated with the AA but was a local from an ethnic minority group in the CHT. For BGB officers, labeling an armed individual as an AA member served as a pretext for personal promotions.

   
   

   

2. September 29, 2025 – BGB Official Release The BGB announced the arrest of an alleged AA lieutenant who had reportedly fled and surrendered to them. In truth, this individual was not an AA member but a local Bangladeshi involved in illicit drug trafficking activities facilitated by BGB officers.

   
   

   

3. October 10, 2025 – Deshbidash Report A local media outlet, Deshbidash, published an article titled “Two Arakan Army Members from Myanmar Arrested in Bangladesh.” The report claimed that the two men were detained while en route to attend AA military training.

   However, an investigation revealed that the incident occurred in January 2019, and the individuals arrested were not AA members but belonged to the Arakan Liberation Party (ALP), a pro-junta group in Myanmar. The use of outdated photos in the article demonstrates how Bengali media manipulated evidence to tarnish the AA’s image.

   
   

   

   True News About the Photos

   
   

These three cases clearly illustrate how both government and media entities in Bangladesh are intent on portraying the AA as a weakening force to boost the morale of their “Islamic brothers” in ARSA/RSO, who are fighting the AA in collaboration with the Myanmar junta.

Observers monitoring incidents along the Arakan-Bangladesh border should closely track this escalating disinformation campaign against the AA, orchestrated by both state and civil society actors in Bangladesh.