AI-Generated Audio Falsely Shared as Sheikh Hasina’s…

In August 2026, social media users began circulating a short video clip featuring the logo of Republic TV, which purported to be the first public address by former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina following her 2024 ouster. The audio in the clip featured inflammatory statements regarding radical terrorism and a geopolitical proposal to unite Bangladesh with Indian territories under a new secular democracy. However, investigation revealed that the audio was entirely fabricated using artificial intelligence.

What happened

The disinformation campaign utilized an AI-generated audio track overlaid on video footage to falsely depict Sheikh Hasina making specific, controversial claims. The fabricated audio suggested that Hasina intended to defeat radical groups by any means necessary and requested that Prime Minister Narendra Modi integrate East and West Bengal into a single province.

Fact-checkers debunked the claim by comparing the audio against authentic recordings of Hasina's actual address, which had been shared by major news outlets including Republic TV and CNN-News18. In the genuine footage, Hasina discussed the 2024 student-led anti-quota reform movement, which she characterized as a violent political coup, and expressed her desire to return to Bangladesh to support the people. The authentic speech contained no mention of radical Islam, Prime Minister Modi, or territorial unification.

To confirm the fabrication, the circulating clip was subjected to forensic analysis by AI detection tools. Resemble AI assigned the audio a 68.68 percent likelihood of being fake, while Hive Moderation returned an 88.8 percent probability that the content was AI-generated. The incident serves as a clear example of how sophisticated voice synthesis is being leveraged to manufacture political disinformation and manipulate public perception regarding sensitive international affairs.