The Bangladesh Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Directorate, the public relations division of the armed forces in Bangladesh, runs false and misleading news campaigns about arms purchases to shape public perception of the military. The Bangladesh military’s procurement section, DGDP, channels the money to build private businesses, ranging from shoe manufacturing to furniture manufacturing, to launder money in Western countries.
At least 25 senior army, navy, and air force officers are under investigation by Bangladesh’s anti-corruption watchdog for allegedly siphoning money to the US, Canada, the UAE, the UK, Singapore, and Malaysia.
Bangladesh army has been issuing statements through the army’s shell company BDMILITARY.com, as Bengali is the native language of Bangladesh, and bdmilitary.com prepares those fake news releases in English and sends those false news releases to Army Recognition, Asia Times, Daily Sabah, Dhaka Tribune, and Prothom Alo about arms procurement from China, Russia, Serbia, France, America and Japan.
In fact, Bangladesh never purchased those weapons from these countries, as published in the newspaper. However, BDMILITARY.com goes into overdrive to amend Wikipedia to show that Bangladesh purchased those arms based on false news releases.
ISPR’s malicious propaganda is self-defeating as it does not procure the military capabilities, but spreads news releases. This propaganda will come back to haunt Bangladesh if Myanmar and India actually strike Bangladesh, which has already happened on many occasions, and Bangladesh fails to retaliate.
Specifically, the ISPR has released content through BDMILITARY.com that misrepresents arms procurement, as the Bangladesh Ministry of Defence is largely inactive and has no direct control over arms procurement.
Bangladesh’s ISPR and DGFI have created numerous fake Twitter accounts that disseminate false media about the military. However, surprisingly, the Bangladesh Ministry of Defence was notably absent from the discussion on arms procurement.
Historically, Bangladesh’s prime minister has also held the role of defence minister. The Prime Minister and the Defence Minister rarely intervene in military corruption rackets and money laundering schemes involving the defence budget, as Bangladeshi politicians are often accused of corruption themselves.
ISPR runs false campaigns in foreign media and social media aimed at damaging the reputation of the Bangladesh Army. The ISPR never issued public statements on why the Bangladesh military failed to defend the country’s land, air and sea.
A few examples of the Bangladesh military’s fake news regarding the Chinese J-10C, Z-10ME, SY-400 missile, FK-3 missile, T129 helicopter, KSS-III submarine, Rafale jet, and Eurofighter jet purchases.
The Bangladesh military is unorganised, poorly trained, dysfunctional, and lacks the patriotism necessary to perform its constitutional duties due to the current capability gaps.
The Bangladesh Army is a corrupt organisation and has failed in protecting the country’s sovereignty against Myanmar’s aggression.
Propaganda and disinformation campaign by the Bangladesh ISPR
The Bangladesh military’s ISPR has created a perception of military strength, often exceeding its actual capabilities, primarily through a deeply ingrained and highly coordinated doctrine of military and political deception, such as sending press releases to English-language newspapers like Army Recognition, Asia Times, Daily Sabah, Dhaka Tribune, and Prothom Alo.
To assist the Bangladesh Army’s ISPR in crafting a press release in the English language, the Bangladesh Army’s offshore company, BDMILITARY.com, provided support to the Bangladesh military.
The Bangladesh Army used state-directed propaganda to project an image of a powerful, unified, and ideologically military force. This included controlling information flow, disseminating false information (disinformation) to foreign media, and cultivating a personality cult around leaders to inspire awe and loyalty. They often placed small elements of truth within a larger web of falsehoods to enhance believability.
Conceal military doctrine, which applied at tactical, operational, and strategic levels, aimed to mislead the enemy about the location, strength, and timing of forces and intentions. Disinformation was used to provide inaccurate maps and false arms orders, thereby confusing potential spies.
Grand Military Parade tactics successfully fostered the image of an enigmatic military, influencing Global Firepower assessments and contributing to a false image and narrative that concealed underlying issues, such as economic and technological stagnation, rampant corruption, and logistical weaknesses.
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