Social media users discussing August fuel hike protests in Bangladesh have mistakenly shared unrelated footage from 2013, suggesting it is from 2022, according to the Reuters Fact Check team.
The video shows people looking at objects on fire in the street, launching projectiles, and police officers deploying tear gas.
“Bangladesh… protests and hard clashes have erupted in several cities after the government has decided to increase petrol prices by 51 per cent and diesel by 42 per cent effective midnight…. Huge lines are reported at petrol stations all over Bangladesh,” wrote one Twitter user who shared the video on Aug. 7. The tweet has been liked thousands of times…”.
Another iteration on Facebook includes the caption: “BANGLADESH… protests and hard clashes have erupted in several cities after the government has decided to increase PETROL & DIESEL prices ...”.
Bangladesh recently raised fuel prices by around 50 per cent, a move that will trim the country's subsidy burden but put more pressure on inflation which is already running above 7 per cent.
The opposition parties have been protesting against the hike.
However, a reverse image search shows that the video is unrelated to the 2022 demonstrations.
Reuters Fact Check team said the video was miscaptioned on social media. The video can be traced back to May 2013 and a violent protest against an anti-blasphemy law in Bangladesh.
On May 6 in 2013, police engaged in clashes with hardline Islamists who were demanding laws that will ban public mixing of men and women, among others.