A number of journalists and academics slammed what they called a disturbing a pattern in opposition combine efforts to promote political narrative as truth and undermine real facts on ground. They stressed on the need for cross-checking and verifying the facts on part of responsible authorities instead of relying on single source to reach certain conclusion.
Zulkarnain Saer, a businessman turned active BNP online activist who now impersonates as tipster, is one such figure in the ring who kept up systematic veiled attack on press, defame journalists through social media to stop adverse reportage against BNP Jamaat combine.
Often masquerades himself a journalist for working in a portal already known for agenda driven work, headed by opposition leader Dr Kamal Hossain’s son in law, Saer even asked one foreign journalist to stay out of Bangladesh in a Facebook post.
“Keep your hands and eyes off Bangladesh”, how Saer threatened the journalist from his verified Facebook post.
Journalists even compared Saer with one fake advisor to Biden who was brought before the nation by BNP leaders during a press conference from Party Headquarters. Saer’s resemblance can be found with another BNP supporter Mushfiqul Fazal Ansaery, a close aide to Tarique, who faked his job experience as a political reporter with a leading news wire service but rejected outright by the service.
“A racket of fraudsters are out to play the narrative on behalf of the opposition… there is nothing wrong had they introduced themselves with their true identity… but they hide their identity and keen to dupe readers with their views as independent analysts which is very much alarming”, he added.
One Editor of the portal, Tasneem Khalil, who is leading a life in exile, even attempted to downplay country’s one of the worst period of human rights violations, that saw rise of state sponsored militancy and persecution of minorities, when Tarique Rahman, the acting fugitive chief, ran a parallel government when his mother ruled the country.
Earlier, 237 civil society members found as headed by opposition leader’s son in law, the portal acts as vanguard for opposition narrative building exercise that sought to undermine organized crimes like arson attacks and justify undemocratic demand like blockade and belittle the gravity of war crimes of Jamaat.
Moreover, Saer brought to justice in 2006 for indulging in financial anomalies.
At the age of 17, Saami caught red handed for stealing trouser of an army officer while in 2000 he was found involved in illegal wildlife trading” according to Jugantor.