Fact Check: Video of Hasina Seeking ‘United Bengal’ is AI-Generated
This viral video of former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is living in exile in India, speaking about merging Bangladesh with India is a deepfake. The video of her virtual address has been edited to include an audio clone of her voice. The edited video is now being used to spread this false claim.
- By: Abhishek Parashar
- Published: Aug 17, 2026 at 04:20 PM
- Updated: Aug 17, 2026 at 05:42 PM
New Delhi (Vishvas News). Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed, in her first virtual public address after being exiled from her country, termed the protests against her government in 2024 as a well-planned political conspiracy. In her address, she expressed her views on many issues. She said that today’s Bangladesh is not the Bangladesh for which millions of people sacrificed their lives. In this context, an audio clip of her address is being shared on social media. It is being claimed that in her speech, she appealed for ‘Bangla unification’ and said that East Bengal (now Bangladesh) and West Bengal should be merged to form one state.
Vishvas News investigated and found the claim to be false. The audio in the viral video has been manipulated using AI. She did not mention any such merger or integration in her virtual address from India. In fact, the fake claim is being made by editing the footage from her virtual address and adding an AI-created audio clone of her voice.
What is viral?
Social media user ‘ѕнαfιq кнαи off’ shared the viral video (archive link) on August 10, 2026 and wrote, “Big and shocking news: Hasina Wazed, former Prime Minister of Bangladesh and daughter of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who is currently living in voluntary exile in India, has demanded that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi make Bangladesh a province of India.”
Investigation
In the audio of the viral video, Sheikh Hasina Wajed can allegedly be heard saying: “If these radical Muslim terrorists don’t back off from using their terror-based governance over Bangladesh, our goal will be to finish them by hook or by crook. I will request Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji to create Bangla as one single province combining both East and West Bangla together, to bring a new secular democracy, which I will lead in future to integrate Bangla into its true roots of secularism.”
The viral video features the logo of the Indian TV channel ‘Republic TV’. It’s worth noting that on August 5, 2026, former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina delivered her first virtual public address from the Foreign Correspondents’ Club in Delhi, more than two years after her ouster from power. Republic TV and other Indian news channels broadcast the address live.
To verify the claims made in the viral video, we listened to the entire virtual address, which is available on Republic TV’s YouTube channel. The full transcript of this video can be read here.
Nowhere in her entire virtual speech did we find this statement: “If these radical Muslim terrorists don’t back off from using their terror-based governance over Bangladesh, our goal will be to finish them by hook or by crook. I will request Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji to create Bangla as one single province combining both East and West Bangla together to bring a new secular democracy which I will lead in future to integrate Bangla into its true roots of secularism.”
However, in her virtual speech, she clearly stated, “Whatever my fate may hold, I will return to my people. I cannot stay away from my beloved countrymen when they are in trouble. I know I may be imprisoned. They may try to impose verdicts in false cases on me, but fear cannot dictate my duty to my people. My life has long since transcended concerns about my own safety. In 1971, I was in prison with my mother, and my son, Joy, was born there. In 1975, I lost my family. I spent six years abroad. After returning home, I fought against military rulers, dictatorships, and political conspiracies. There were 19 attempts to assassinate me, and even the grenade attack on August 21, 2004, could not deter me. I am not worried about my future; I am worried about the future of Bangladesh.”
She further added, “I want to return because the people there deserve security, development, prosperity, and peace. They deserve a state that protects them, an economy that provides them with opportunities, and a democracy that empowers them. My and the Awami League’s return to the democratic process is not to gain power, but to put Bangladesh back on the right path. It aims to restart the country’s path of development, progress, secularism, and stability.”
Our investigation clearly shows that the viral video has been manipulated. To verify its authenticity, we tested it using deepfake detection tools. Analysis by the Swiss deeptech company ‘Aurigin’ confirms the possibility of AI manipulation in the video’s audio.
The audio in the viral video is 39 seconds long, with the 0:00-0:05 and 0:10-0:20 segments showing the highest likelihood of AI manipulation.
We also verified this audio using another tool, ‘Hiya’. Hiya’s analysis indicated a 90% probability of AI manipulation in the audio segment from 0:00-0:31 seconds.
We contacted Umashankar Singh, a senior journalist covering foreign affairs, regarding the claims made in the viral video. He dismissed the audio attributed to Sheikh Hasina as fake, saying she had not made any such controversial statement in her virtual address.
The user who shared the viral video with the fake claim has around 500 followers on X. According to the information provided on the profile, the user is based in Canada.
What is the context?
Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina broke down in tears during her first virtual live address on August 5, 2026, marking two years since she was ousted from power.
In her address, she termed the 2024 student movement against her government as a well-planned political conspiracy and a violent operation.
Fact check reports of other similar deepfake claims going viral on social media can be read in the AI Check section of Vishvas News.
Conclusion: This viral video of former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is living in exile in India, speaking about merging Bangladesh with India is a deepfake. The video of her virtual address has been edited to include an audio clone of her voice. The edited video is now being used to spread this false claim.
- Claim Review : In her first virtual address, Sheikh Hasina demanded the merger of Bangladesh with India.
- Claimed By : X User-ѕнαfιq кнαи off
- Fact Check : False
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