Fact check: Video of violent Bangladesh protest is from 2013, not response to 2022 fuel prices

Hannah Hudnall, USA TODAY
·3 min read

The claim: Video shows protest in Bangladesh in response to fuel price increases

On Aug. 6, Bangladesh raised its fuel prices by about 50%, according to Reuters. The country blames Russia's war in Ukraine for the decision, saying it has had to increase its imports and, therefore, its loans from foreign agencies.

Following the price spike, a major Bangladesh opposition party gathered thousands in protest in the country's capital, Dhaka, Bloomberg reported.

Several social media users are sharing a video showing dozens of Bangladeshi men violently protesting in the streets. In the video, the men are shown lighting objects on fire and running from the police.

"Bangladesh : Violent protests and hard clashes in several cities after the government has decided to increase petrol prices by 51% and diesel by 42%," the caption of an Aug. 8 post says. "Their inflation rate has topped 6% for 9 consecutive months, with annual inflation in July hitting 7.48%. Indian Liberals will say Bangladesh has more PCI than India, ahead in happiness index than India, more exports in textile, etc."

The video has garnered over 1,800 views in its first week. Other viral iterations have been shared on Twitter. One version on Facebook garnered over 2,100 views in its first three days before it was deleted.

But the video has no connection to the country's recent fuel price protests. It was published on YouTube in May, 2013, by several international news outlets and shows protests regarding an anti-blasphemy law.

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USA TODAY reached out to the social media user who shared the claim for comment.

"Well it's more than a week old video, I will let you know if I can trace back the source," the user said in response. "Many news channels & media covered it."

Video shows unrelated 2013 protest

The video was published on YouTube by Indonesian news outlet Berita Satu on May 5, 2013, with the title, "Protests for the Blasphemy Law Are Chaotic," according to a Google translation. The video's description says the protests were held in Dhaka and led to the death of one person and the injury of at least 45 others.

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The video was shared a day later on YouTube by British news outlet Channel 4 News. The video's description says, "Islamist hardliners, demanding a new anti-blasphemy law, engage in running battle with police, which are understood to have killed 22."

Our rating: False

Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that a video shows protests in Bangladesh in response to recent fuel price increases. The video was shared on YouTube in May 2013 by Channel 4 News and Berita Satu. It shows protests regarding an anti-blasphemy law.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Video shows 2013 protest in Bangladesh