- Multiple fake IDs and pages found on Facebook and X using the name and photo of news anchor Sarah Mahjabin.
- Regularly spreading controversial and false claims.
- At least 25 pieces of misinformation have been identified in the last seven months.
- The main culprit is a person from Dhaka named Md. Shilon Reza Biswas.
- Sarah Mahjabin is facing defamation due to the controversial posts.
In May and June, a video of a man being hung from an excavator and beaten in India was spread on social media with the claim that it was an incident in Sitakunda, Bangladesh, and depicted a Jamaat-Shibir cadre torturing an Awami League worker. While investigating, it was found that this claim was also promoted from an X account named Sarah Khan. An investigation by the Rumor Scanner Investigation Unit has revealed that for several months, fake Facebook and X accounts have been created using the name and photo of Sarah Mehjabeen, a news anchor at the private electronic media outlet Ekattor TV. These accounts, blue-verified through paid subscriptions, are regularly used to make controversial posts and spread misinformation, putting Sarah Mahjabin’s personal security at risk. The main culprit behind these activities has also been identified.
From X to Facebook: All Tied to the Same Thread
Since March, misinformation spread by a verified X account named Sarah Mehjabeen has been regularly identified. In response, the Rumor Scanner Investigation Unit launched an investigation into the account. Up until the publication of this report this month, at least 15 pieces of misinformation spread from this single account have been identified.
A review of the account shows that it was created in March of this year. This verified account, with over fifteen thousand followers, lists its location as South Kazipara, Mirpur, Dhaka.
Although the account is currently active with the username sarrah1216, an archive saved by Rumor Scanner shows that until at least mid-April, the username SarahMahja37308 was being used. The account was also verified at that time, and its name was Sarah Mahjabin. The name was later changed to Sarah Khan, but the account’s activities remained unchanged.
The bio of this X account contains a link to a Facebook page. Following this link leads to a page named ‘সারাহ্ (Sarah)’ with over twenty thousand followers, which uses the same photo. The page was created on April 21 of this year, and its name has not been changed since. The page is not verified. According to the page’s transparency section, it is managed by six accounts from Bangladesh.
In a post from this page in July, it is seen that an account named Shilon Reza is an admin of this page.
In a post in June, the page announced that it had earned $35.83 from X at that time.
While reviewing the page’s activities, it was observed that it frequently shares posts from another Facebook account named Sarah Khan, which uses the same woman’s photo. In a post on July 20, the page claimed this account as its own and urged people to send friend requests. It stated, “The condition of my page is not very good. It might get disabled at any moment because yesterday I wrote a post and it’s getting a tremendous number of reports. It might get ruined, so I’m giving the link to my other account which is verified. Only those who are in favor of independence should send friend requests, I will not accept others.”
The account, created on January 5, 2010, is Meta Verified. It has 65,000 followers and is managed by a single individual from Bangladesh.
A comment on a post from this account in January 2024 caught the attention of the Rumor Scanner Investigation Unit. On a post about cats, an account named সা রা হ (Sa Ra H) made a relevant comment. A reply was also made from the Sarah Khan account. The ‘সা রা হ’ account is also active using Sarah Mehjabeen’s photo.
Although the account is locked, preventing a review of its activities, the Rumor Scanner Investigation Unit has confirmed that the account is several years old. Two different individuals tagged this account in posts in May 2022 and December 2023. The account was active with the same name at that time.
In other words, a mutual connection is found between one account on X and two accounts and one page on Facebook.
Who is behind the scenes?
The Rumor Scanner Investigation Unit had been investigating for some time to find out who is operating these accounts and pages day after day using Sarah Mehjabeen’s name and photo. In this context, using filtering and keyword search methods on Facebook, a post from September 18, 2023, by a Dhaka-based bird-selling profile named Sunshine Aviary came to our attention. The post mentioned an account named ‘Md: Shilon Reza Biswas’. Clicking on this name now redirects to the verified account named ‘Sarah Khan’. The Rumor Scanner Investigation Unit has confirmed by analyzing some other posts from that time that the previous name of this account was ‘Md: Shilon Reza Biswas’.
However, although it is not known exactly when the name was changed, by analyzing the account, the Rumor Scanner Investigation Unit has confirmed that the name was changed from the previous one to ‘Sarah Khan’ between mid-September (a post on September 7 still had the old name) and October of last year.
The post by Sunshine Aviary also mentions another page called ‘শীলন NEST’. Clicking on it now leads to a page named Citibird. This name was changed in May of last year. The address given on this page is South Kazipara, Mirpur-10, Dhaka. The same address is given on the X account of Sarah Khan. The contact number provided on the page is found under the name ‘Shilon’ in Truecaller.
The connection of Shilon Reza with the Sarah Khan account is further confirmed by a post from the Sarah Khan account in June 2024. This post tags an account named Shilon Reza. However, no posts have been seen on that account since December 2022.
The Rumor Scanner Investigation Unit has also found Shilon Reza’s current main account. This verified account, named MD Shilon Reza Biswas, was opened in October 2011. Shilon identifies himself as a former student of Dhaka University. A review of this account’s bio reveals that he is the CEO of a page named ‘ফ্যাক্ট চেকিং (Fact Checking)’ (although the page previously had some bird-centric names; the name was last changed in July last year) and he has a shop named Shrevi Pets Care in Kazipara, Mirpur. Evidence of the name Shrevi Pets Care was also found in a photo from a post by the verified Sarah Khan account after the January 7, 2024 election. A Facebook page and an Instagram account of Shilon have also been found.
According to Shilon’s e-trade license, obtained by the Rumor Scanner Investigation Unit through open-source investigation, his full name is Md. Shilon Reza Biswas. His father’s name is Md. Monirul Islam Biswas, and his mother’s name is Most. Bedena Khatun. Although his permanent address is mentioned as Meherpur, Shilon has stated his current address as Kazipara, Mirpur, Dhaka.
Reviewing the fake accounts, the Rumor Scanner Investigation Unit found several posts that included some alleged photos of Shilon and Sarah Mehjabeen together. See the posts here, here, here, and here.
In the photos, Shilon is introduced as Sarah’s younger brother. At least two photos also show two young girls, who are introduced as Sarah’s sisters. During a conversation with the Rumor Scanner Investigation Unit, the real Sarah Mehjabeen stated that she has no younger brother. She has never seen this person. She does not know the two young girls either. She has an older brother in her family.
Analysis of the photos suggests they were created using artificial intelligence. Not only these photos, but evidence has been found of multiple AI-generated images of Sarah being circulated on these accounts.
What kind of activities are these accounts conducting?
Since starting their activities using Sarah Mehjabeen’s name and photo, the two accounts of Sarah Khan on Facebook and X have been regularly posting on various topics. For the purpose of investigation, the Rumor Scanner Investigation Unit reviewed the activities of these two accounts on a randomly selected day. It was observed that on September 25 alone, 25 posts were made on the verified Facebook account. On the same day, 20 posts were made on the X account. The posts on both accounts are generally the same and are made within a 2/1 minute interval. However, the number of posts on X was lower that day because eight posts made on Facebook were not made on X. Conversely, there was one post made on X but not on Facebook.
AI-generated images of Sarah Mehjabeen were used in six of these posts. On average, 5/6 such posts per day include multiple AI-generated images of Sarah.
Analysis of the types of misinformation identified
Rumor Scanner has identified 25 pieces of misinformation spread from the two Sarah Khan accounts on X and Facebook and the ‘সারাহ্’ Facebook page between March 23 and September 1. Analyzing this misinformation, the Rumor Scanner Investigation Unit found that it continuously criticized the current interim government and its officials. Old videos from different countries or different incidents were used. For example, a video from India was used to claim a deterioration of law and order in the country, a video from Vietnam was claimed to be footage of BIDA Chairman Ashik Chowdhury torturing his wife, and a video from before March 2024, during the previous government’s tenure, showing a security guard beating a female garment worker was presented as a current event of this year.
In August of last year, a claim was circulating on social media that a pregnant female police officer was killed at Enayetpur police station in Sirajganj during the student-public movement. Rumor Scanner had fact-checked at the time and reported that no such incident occurred. Nevertheless, this misinformation continues to be spread regularly. It has now been coupled with fake images created by artificial intelligence. Using that image, the Sarah Khan X account also made a post in April, claiming the incident to be true.
The promotion of offensive content demeaning women has also been observed on these accounts. Disinformation was spread using an edited photo of Jatiya Nagorik Party leader Tasnim Jara wearing half-pants. Moreover, misinformation related to various global events was also spread on these accounts.
Additionally, the regular promotion of misinformation on contemporary issues, including a fake press release involving the armed forces, has been noted on these accounts.
There are more fake Sarahs
Apart from the page and accounts mentioned above, another Facebook account named Sarah Mehjabeen has been found. Photos of Sarah Mehjabeen are regularly posted on this account as well. The account, launched on July 17, 2023, has nearly ten thousand followers. A person from Saudi Arabia is using this profile.
The Rumor Scanner Investigation Unit found that the previous name of the account was Sanjida Aktar Shanta. This account regularly shares posts from a Facebook page called মেঘের দেশ. This page was created on July 14, 2023. At that time, its name was Mamunur Rashid. The name was changed in January 2024. This page regularly posts using a woman’s photo. A reverse image search reveals that the real name of the woman is Nudrat Fariha Oishee. This Bangladeshi young woman currently lives in New York.
In search of the real Sarah
While investigating the verified X account named Sarah Mahjabin and other related accounts and pages, a resemblance was found between the face of the woman in the photos in question and the face of a woman on an Instagram and a Facebook account with the same name. This woman, Sarah Mahjabin, is a news anchor by profession. When the Rumor Scanner Investigation Unit began its investigation, she was working at News24 channel. This month, she joined Ekattor TV. A review of these two accounts shows that the Instagram account, with 131,000 followers, was created in July 2014. On the other hand, the Facebook account was created two years earlier, in July 2012. In addition to these, another Facebook page and a Threads account in her name were also found. Analyzing the posts on both the Facebook and Instagram accounts and the page, Sarah is seen regularly posting her own photos, family pictures, and pictures from various tours. However, she has never been seen posting in the Bengali language. Sarah confirmed to the Rumor Scanner Investigation Unit that she has no other social media accounts besides these four.
Sarah Mahjabin says she was aware of the fake accounts. In response, she filed a General Diary (GD) regarding one account in February of this year. A review of the GD copy shows that the GD was filed at the Vatara police station in the capital on February 10. In the GD, Sarah mentioned that the said account was damaging her reputation by publishing political news. Sarah informed the Rumor Scanner Investigation Unit that the account was subsequently disabled.
An example of how Sarah Mahjabin is being denigrated over this issue can be found in a Facebook post. Recently, using a screenshot of a post from the verified Sarah Khan Facebook account, Sarah Mahjabin was criticized on Facebook and labeled an atheist. Even her workplace was criticized.
Law enforcement advises to be vocal in filing complaints
The Rumor Scanner Investigation Unit discussed Sarah Mahjabin’s case with Jasim Uddin Khan, Special Superintendent of Police (Media) of the CID. He says that in such incidents, the punishment is determined according to the nature of the crime. If law enforcement is informed about these fake IDs as quickly as possible, it becomes easier to take action. He advised contacting the CID’s Cyber Police Center’s Facebook page to file complaints about such matters.
Methodology
This investigation was conducted under Rumor Scanner’s specialized division, the ‘Rumor Scanner Investigation Unit’. This unit has been monitoring the activities of social media accounts and pages operating under the name and photo of news anchor Sarah Mahjabin since March. This long-term investigation, using open-source methods, has identified the main individual behind these fake accounts and pages. For the purpose of publishing this report, every fact-check report identified from these accounts between March and September of this year has been analyzed, and the activities of the accounts have been reviewed. Contact was made with the victim, and a statement was also taken from law enforcement.
Feature Design: Md. Shahajalal Mia
