Chinese Vloggers Falsely Portray Dhaka Slums as New Delhi
Over 150 Chinese vloggers filmed impoverished neighborhoods in Dhaka, Bangladesh, while falsely claiming the footage showed New Delhi to defame India's international image.
Approximately 150 Chinese vloggers and livestreamers have been filming in impoverished neighborhoods of Dhaka, Bangladesh, while falsely presenting the footage as scenes from New Delhi, India. An investigation by the newspaper Prothom Alo revealed that content creators operated in the Tekpara and Uttara areas, using platforms such as WeChat, Douyin, TikTok, and Weibo to broadcast footage of narrow lanes and modest homes.
Mianmian, a vlogger from Sichuan province, identified a canal in Uttara as New Delhi and described the area as underdeveloped, dirty, and unhygienic. Another vlogger, Wang Wei, claimed that local residents in India drink tea made from cow urine and dirty river water. While some participants claimed the activity was part of a product-promotion campaign, reports characterize the effort as a coordinated disinformation campaign. The activity also sparked privacy concerns in Dhaka after vloggers entered private homes and bathrooms without permission.
Srikanth Kondapalli, a professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University, described the trend as an ideological struggle. He stated that these derogatory portrayals aim to undermine India's progress and challenge China's domestic narrative of building a well-off society. Kondapalli noted that the videos seek to paint a bleak picture of South Asia to gain social media clout and validation.
