Several Facebook pages have been created by copying the logos of the country's leading newspapers, online and television channels. Although these pages were created for fun, there is now widespread confusion about these. A lot of political content is being posted on these pages, including misinformation and fake news. Even content from mainstream media is being copied and posted. The credibility of popular media outlets is being questioned by opening fake pages using their names and logos. The media outlets are facing a new challenge of damaging their reputation. Therefore, experts have called for effective steps to be taken now to prevent malpractices.
"The Facebook pages that are being created to imitate TV and newspapers do not really exist as TV or newspapers. There should be a state policy for such matters. The issue of media copyright must also be taken into consideration in this case. Closing one or two pages will not solve the problem. If one is closed, another will open," said Dr. Saiful Alam Chowdhury, Associate Professor of the Department of Mass Communication and Journalism, Dhaka University.
Citing the reasons for this trend, Dr. Saiful Alam Chowdhury said, "When there is political chaos, such things can be observed all over the world. Their use also increases to influence opinion before elections. Photocards and logos are copied to spread misinformation. Not everyone is aware. When photocards are made to look like the ones on top-tier newspapers and TV, the general public won't understand. Then they will be confused."
"Media literacy needs to be increased, which should start in schools but is not available in our country. Earlier, there were five fundamental rights of a person. Now there are six. The right to information is now a fundamental right. Just as there is adulteration in food, education, and health, information is also adulterated. We prevent food adulteration by making people aware. People used to not check the expiration date of products. But when they came to know about it, they immediately developed the habit of checking and buying products. Now they need to be taught this lesson: information is also subject to adulteration. People need to be given an idea of how to get accurate information. The issue needs to be brought into basic literacy. Closing a page or two in a day won't solve this. Meta and YouTube won't do much. If you complain, they might remove it. The US and Indian governments follow strict rules on these. But in our country, Meta can do business easily. Because of this, Meta is not paying much attention to those who are spreading hate speech. Because Meta sees who has more followers. This is not a one-day problem, so it is not possible to solve it in one day. People need to be made aware that, like adulterated food, adulterated information is also risky. Adulterated information will not only put them at risk but also the entire community at risk," he added.
"The government needs to think about protecting businesses. We need to monitor the issue of spreading misinformation and damaging reputations by using other people's designs and logos. We ourselves are becoming confused by the perfect design. Dissatisfaction or a kind of instability is being created about these things. In some cases, we have seen them take the form of conflict. "Considering the importance of the matter, a monitoring cell is not being formed; I don't see the crime unit working. Monitoring is very important at this moment. There is no option but to monitor it and take preventive measures," Professor Dr. BM Mainul Hossain, Director of the Institute of Information Technology, Dhaka University, told Khaborer Kagoj.
The review shows that such fake pages are relatively common on the social media platform Facebook. Recently, a Facebook page called Anwar TV is being operated by copying the Jamuna TV logo. The page was launched on May 26, 2025. Before the completion of three months, its number of followers reached 238,000. Although it is written, "This page is created for entertainment purposes only; please do not take any posts seriously; we only publish current news in a sarcastic manner," there is widespread confusion about this page. Because the content created from this page is widely shared, many people do not understand that it is fun content. As a result, Facebook users have also been seen making a lot of negative comments.
"Textbooks should include topics like sarcasm, memes, irony, fact-checking, etc. Today, I saw some people taking The Delhi Star and Anwar TV's news seriously and abusing it in the comment box," wrote Raihan, a former student of Dhaka University, on Facebook. One person commented on that post, 'The problem is that since Anwar TV came, every post has to be fact-checked two or three times.'
Another page called The Delhi Star has been created by imitating the English daily The Daily Star. It has 176,000 followers. On August 17, a 15-second video clip was released on the page. It read: 'As soon as dawn broke, people in white clothes entered the DU campus. Students were terrified, thinking they were 'RAW' or 'ISI' agents." A group of people wearing white dresses is seen walking in that video. This video has been viewed 1.1 million times. Taking the matter seriously, many people have been seen making nasty comments. In those comments, the original English daily, The Daily Star, is seen being abused. Many are seen abusing the original English daily, The Daily Star, in those comments. Many people didn't realize that was a fake page. One commented, "How stupidly they understand people, bro; this is how they have destroyed the country by spreading rumors." Another conscious person commented, "This is sarcasm. Sarcastic page. A comedy page called Delhi Star, not Daily Star. Understand a little first."
The Facebook page Monirzamin was opened on August 13, imitating the daily Manabzamin. The logo and front are very similar to the original Manabzamin. Where negative political posts have been seen. Apart from this, many other pages have been opened with first-rate newspapers and TV channels.
The analysis shows that the general public is getting confused due to the inability to differentiate between real and fake pages. The blame for fake news falls on the real media. Negative perceptions are being created about them.
Analysts say that in the current era, one should verify and trust the information found online. In this case, one should follow the verified (blue-marked) pages of the media. At the same time, if a fake page is identified, one should report it.
