Video from Myanmar shared as 'Hindus being killed in Bangladesh'

(Trigger warning: This story contains mentions of violence. Reader discretion is advised. Logically Facts has refrained from adding any direct links to the visuals.)

What is the claim?

A 33-second video showing bodies lying in a pool of blood inside a bamboo shelter has been circulating online with the claim that it depicts recent violence against Hindus in Bangladesh. 

The video, shared by an X (formerly Twitter) user with the hashtag #SaveBangladeshiHindus, includes overlaid Hindi text that translates to "Hindu women and children are being killed inside their homes in Bangladesh." The post has garnered over 570,300 views and 5,200 shares. 

(Archive links omitted due to the graphic nature of the visuals)

Screenshot of the post sharing the viral video. (Source: X/Screenshot)

However, our investigation revealed that the video originates from Myanmar's Rakhine state and is not connected to the recent violence in Bangladesh.

What did we find?

A reverse image search of a keyframe from the video led us to an X post by Ro Nay San Lwin, a Myanmar-based Rohingya activist and co-founder of the Free Rohingya Coalition. The post, dated June 9, 2024, confirms that the incident occurred in Myanmar's Rakhine state, not Bangladesh. 

Lwin wrote, "Amid fighting between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army (AA) in Rakhine State's Maungdaw Township, artillery shells hit the Habi West Rohingya hamlet of Thi Ho Kyun village tract today, resulting in six deaths, including two children, and seven injuries, including four children." We verified that the same individuals and objects appear in both the video and Lwin's image.

Logically Facts contacted Lwin, who confirmed that the video shows the June 9, 2024, incident in Rakhine State. "The Myanmar military fired artillery from Border Guard Police Battalion No. 5, locally known as Na Kha Kha 5. The village hit was Thi Ho Kyun, resulting in the deaths of six Rohingya and nine injuries." Lwin also confirmed that the language spoken in the video is Rohingya, not Bangla, which would be expected in Bangladesh.

Additionally, RVision, a Burmese media outlet, reported on the incident with the same image shared by Lwin, confirming that the June 9 attack in Rakhine state resulted in seven deaths and two injuries due to a large-scale explosion by the Myanmar military.

We also found a LinkedIn post from June 2024 by Maung Hla Myint, a Rohingya human rights activist and founder of Rohingya Aid & Empowerment Network (RAEN), which corroborates that the video depicts the June 9 incident in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, not in Bangladesh.

The current situation in Bangladesh

The interim government, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, recently pledged to address the ongoing violence in Bangladesh. The unrest began with student protests against the Awami League government's quota policy in government jobs. 

Yunus has pledged to conduct a 'free, fair, and inclusive election' after implementing key reforms, which he sees as the interim government's main responsibility.

The verdict

The viral video shows an incident in war-torn Myanmar where Rohingya individuals were killed after a village was hit by artillery. The video is being falsely shared as evidence of 'violence against Hindus' in Bangladesh.