In an extraordinary example of digital propaganda, Chinese social media influencers are filming some of Dhaka’s poorest neighbourhoods in Bangladesh and presenting the footage to their audiences as scenes from New Delhi, India. The objective appears to be to reinforce negative stereotypes about India.
An investigation published by Bangladeshi newspaper Prothom Alo on November 6 has exposed the disturbing trend. According to the report, around 150 Chinese nationals have been filming in areas such as Uttara’s Sector 12 and Tekpara in Dhaka, livestreaming their activities on Chinese platforms including WeChat and Douyin.
The deception is not limited to falsely identifying the location. The influencers reportedly make derogatory comments about the residents, their homes, hygiene and everyday lifestyles, while telling viewers that they are witnessing conditions in India’s capital.
One Chinese woman, identified as Mianmian, was reportedly seen livestreaming beside a canal in Uttara on November 1. She introduced the neighbourhood as New Delhi and described its houses as dirty, unhygienic and underdeveloped. Another streamer, identified as Wang Wei, allegedly told viewers that tea being consumed by locals was made using cow urine and dirty river water.
Bangladesh’s poverty is being packaged and sold to Chinese audiences as India’s poverty, accompanied by deliberately insulting commentary.
What makes the episode particularly troubling is that this does not appear to be an isolated incident. Bangladesh’s The Business Standard had already reported in May 2026 that Chinese vloggers were filming in Dhaka’s impoverished neighbourhoods, frequently using words such as ‘poor’, ‘dirty’ and ‘slum’ in their video titles. Some reportedly entered homes and recorded residents without proper permission.
So why are so many Chinese content creators suddenly interested in documenting poverty in Bangladesh while pretending to be in India?
Some streamers have claimed that their activities are connected to product promotion. However, that explanation does not clarify why they repeatedly misrepresent Dhaka as Delhi or make fabricated claims about Indian lifestyles. The possibility of a deliberate campaign to damage India’s image deserves investigation. Further, an investigation has to be conducted on Chinese government involvement or central coordination.
This is where the phenomenon becomes more than an ordinary social media controversy. In the age of information warfare, propaganda does not necessarily require government television channels, official statements or expensive advertising campaigns. It can travel through thousands of seemingly independent influencers, livestreams and short videos. Repeated falsehoods, when amplified across platforms, can gradually acquire the appearance of truth.
India certainly has poverty, slums and serious sanitation challenges. No country is beyond criticism, and genuine documentation of social problems should never be discouraged. But deliberately filming another country’s slums, misidentifying the location and inventing outrageous stories is not journalism or social commentary. It is deception.
India needs to take such attempts at image manipulation seriously. The digital battlefield is no longer restricted to military secrets, cyberattacks and hacking. It increasingly involves controlling narratives, manufacturing perceptions and undermining a rival country’s international standing.
These Chinese influencers are demonstrating how easily social media can be weaponised. And the most disturbing part is that a lie about India does not even require filming in India anymore.
