TGI in the News
The fact-checking boom: A growing industry or a fading promise?
April 2, 2025
The International Fact-Checking Day is a day to celebrate the important role fact-checkers play in defending truth against the overwhelming tide of information disorder—or so we are told. Does fact-checking actually make a substantial dent in the deluge of disinformation swamping our digital lives?
এত সংস্কারের ভিড়ে ডিজিটাল পরিসর কতটা ‘নিরাপদ’
March 12, 2025
সামাজিক যোগাযোগ মাধ্যমসহ প্রযুক্তির আধুনিকায়নে ব্যক্তিজীবন কিছুটা সহজ হলেও নিরাপত্তার প্রসঙ্গটি ক্রমশ গুরুত্বপূর্ণ হয়ে উঠছে। বিভিন্ন সময়ে সাইবার স্পেসে হওয়া সহিংসতা; বিশেষত নারীর ওপর আক্রমণ শঙ্কা তৈরি করছে। কিন্তু ওই অনুযায়ী ডিজিটাল বা সাইবার পরিসরে সরকারের সুরক্ষা ব্যবস্থা কি যথেষ্ট?
Applying International Human Rights Principles for AI Governance
February 12, 2025
Despite gaining prominence, the fairness, accountability, transparency and ethics framework in artificial intelligence (AI) governance poses significant limitations. It is inadequately defined to meet the complexities of a pluralistic world, lacks consensus on normative values underpinning it, is prone to misuse and misrepresentation, and inadvertently promotes ethics washing.
How Zuckerberg Reminded Everyone That Meta Doesn’t Care about the Global Majority
January 30, 2025
Just under two weeks before Donald Trump’s inauguration as President of the United States, Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg released a video announcement asserting that Meta had been “censoring” too much online speech and that the company would make a variety of policy changes, including terminating fact-checking and relaxing its posture on misinformation and hate speech.
Disinformation targets right-wing audiences, Indians
December 15, 2024
Reveals TGI analysis of content on Bangladesh on X
How to fix the legacy of internet shutdowns in Bangladesh
September 17, 2024
It is critical to understand the systemic legitimacy of shutdowns in Bangladesh. Under Bangladesh's Constitution, reasonable restrictions on freedom of expression may be imposed on certain grounds, inadvertently giving authorities the latitude to interpret the constitutional provisions to enforce internet shutdowns if necessary, for instance, for state security, public order, or public morality.
AI-Fakes Detection Is Failing Voters in the Global South
September 2, 2024
“There's a lot more easily accessible tools and tech available that actually allows someone to create synthetic media than the ones that are available to actually detect it,” says Sabhanaz Rashid Diya, founder of the Tech Global Institute, a think tank focused on tech policy in the Global South.
জবাবদিহিতার আওতায় আনতে হবে আড়িপাতা-নজরদারি
August 24, 2024
ফাহিম মাশরুরের সঞ্চালনায় সংলাপে আরও বক্তব্য দেন টেকসই উন্নয়নবিষয়ক লেখক ফয়েজ আহমদ তৈয়্যব, সাংবাদিক গোলাম মোর্তোজা ও আশরাফ কায়সার, টেক গ্লোবাল ইনস্টিটিউটের নির্বাহী পরিচালক সাবহানাজ রশীদ , আইনজীবী মিতি সানজানা, বাংলাদেশ মুঠোফোন গ্রাহক অ্যাসোসিয়েশনের সভাপতি মহিউদ্দিন আহমেদ ও তথ্যপ্রযুক্তিবিদ জাকারিয়া স্বপন।
Phone tapping should be under legal framework, accountability
August 24, 2024
Fahim Mashroor moderated the programme,where author Faiz Ahmed Tayyab, journalists Golam Mortuza and Ashraf Qaiser, Tech Global Institute executive director Sabhanaz Rashid, lawyer Miti Sanjana, Bangladesh Mobile Phone Consumers Association president Mohiuddin Ahmed, and IT expert Zakaria Swapan spoke.
For Bangladesh youth, 2024 is the year of election – and revolution
August 9, 2024
Tech Global Institute, an international think tank, released a study in December 2023 analyzing a large dataset which revealed how ruling party Awami League (AL) and opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) reached millions of Bangladeshis through various Facebook pages and groups to disseminate their narratives to sway public opinion towards them.
How online disinformation fuels religious, ethnic and sociopolitical tensions during Bangladesh’s regime change
August 17, 2024
We analyzed 179 pieces of content debunked by six fact-checking organizations between 15th July and 9th August. Out of the debunked content, 126 (70.4 per cent) were rated False, 41 (22.9 per cent) were rated Missing Context, 10 (5.6 per cent) were rated Altered and 2 (1.1 per cent) were rated as Partly False.
Muhammad Yunus may bring reforms to Bangladesh telecoms, mobile operator says
August 13, 2024
Sabhanaz Rashid Diya, executive director at Tech Global Institute, a tech policy and human rights non-profit, also said Yunus' experience would be useful in bringing reforms to a highly complex, competitive, and regulated telecom industry.
Bay Area Relatives of Bangladeshi Hindus Fear for Family Amid Reports of Ethnic Violence
August 12, 2024
According to Tech Global Institute (TGI), an organization seeking to reduce accountability gaps between technology platforms and the Global South, disinformation about ethnic tensions in Bangladesh and AI-generated images were amplified by right-wing mainstream media in Hindu-majority India. Still, many Bay Area Bangladeshis have heard first-person stories from friends or family members.
Bangladesh: Meta accuses ruling party and think tank of coordinated inauthentic behavior
July 11, 2024
Tech policy think tank, the Tech Global Institute, released a study titled “How Facebook Has Become a Political Battleground in Bangladesh” just before the national elections in January 2024. The study demonstrated how the two leading political parties in Bangladesh, Awami League (AL) and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), reached millions of people through social media to influence public opinion using distinctive strategies.
12th national polls: Women politicians attacked more on Facebook
June 25, 2024
Centering the twelfth national elections held last 7 January, women politicians have faced more attacks on Facebook. Of them, women politicians of BNP have been the targetted 10 times more than those of Awami League.
Clamp down on online misogyny against female leaders
June 25, 2024
Study reveals circulation of malicious Facebook content targeting female politicians
ফেসবুকে আওয়ামী লীগের চেয়ে ১০ গুণ বেশি আক্রমণের শিকার বিএনপির নারী রাজনীতিবিদেরা
June 23, 2024
গত ৭ জানুয়ারি অনুষ্ঠিত দ্বাদশ জাতীয় সংসদ নির্বাচনকে ঘিরে ফেসবুকে নারী রাজনীতিকেরা বেশি আক্রমণের শিকার হয়েছেন। আর তাঁদের মধ্যে আওয়ামী লীগের চেয়ে ১০ গুণ আক্রমণের শিকার হয়েছেন বিএনপির নারী রাজনীতিকেরা। এর বাইরে সাংবাদিক, বিশ্লেষক, তারকারা নানা ধরনের হয়রানির শিকার হয়েছেন।
The Human Rights Costs of Data Localization Around the World
March 26, 2024
Four civil society experts weigh in on why data localization is becoming an increasingly common policy and what this means for people’s rights.
‘Curly Tales’ and ‘BeerBiceps’: Narendra Modi’s BJP taps influencers ahead of India election
February 26, 2024
In a nearly hour-long video on Jani’s “Curly Tales” YouTube channel that has been watched 2.5mn times, the pair discussed Gadkari’s favourite dishes and holiday destinations, while gently touting his work building motorways and reducing vehicle emissions. “He is a foodie first, and a politician second,” went the video’s blurb.
Political cheap fakes are a blind spot for platforms in the Global South
February 15, 2024
Cheap fakes pose a prevalent risk in the Global South that is being ignored by platforms amid the AI hype
DATA PRIVACY DAY: Don’t the poor have a right to privacy?
January 28, 2024
Sharing mobile devices is a common behaviour across South Asia, attributed to economic and cultural factors, according to research. In other words, if people are comfortable sharing devices, does this indicate that they do not care about their privacy? By the same assumption, is it fair to infer that the public lacks a reasonable expectation of privacy when sharing their personal data while buying a SIM card or on digital platforms?
AI in politics: How lines between reality and ‘deepfake’ are blurring
January 22, 2024
It is foreseeable that the use of AI and deepfakes in the political realm, as well as the confusion regarding any content’s authenticity, will increase manifold in the days ahead, with major polls scheduled in the US, India, European Union, Russia, Taiwan and beyond in 2024
Who is winning the AL-BNP battle on Facebook?
January 5, 2024
Among all social media, Facebook is most popular in Bangladesh. Awami League, BNP and other parties put in considerable effort to win over the space. A recent study published on Tech Global Institute (TGI) delves into the statistics.
Are social media platforms ready for record elections this year
January 10, 2024
Experts fear social media giants not ready to fight AI-generated misinformation, leaving voters vulnerable in record election year with more than 50 countries holding votes. Social media giants grapple with layoffs, tough new laws amidst high risk of misinformation, including AI deepfakes.
Deepfakes for $24 a month: how AI is disrupting Bangladesh’s election
December 8, 2023
Pro-government news outlets, bad actors and influencers in Bangladesh have in recent months promoted AI-generated disinformation created with cheap tools offered by artificial intelligence start-ups, according to a report by Financial Times, and featuring research from Tech Global Institute.
Who is winning the AL-BNP battle on Facebook?
January 5, 2024
Unlike the West where politicians tend to depend on advertisement, in Bangladesh, mass engagement on social media is more organic, as numerous official pages, as well as disguised ones, carry out the job in a coordinated manner and directly engage the users.
ফেসবুকে বাংলাদেশের দুই দলের লড়াই
December 24, 2023
Ahead of the upcoming parliamentary elections, the ruling Awami League and the main opposition party, BNP, are very active on social media, especially on Facebook. Both parties are spreading their messages on Facebook to sway public opinion through a combination of profiles, groups and pages, typically sharing hyper-partisan content.
বাংলাদেশে নির্বাচন ঘিরে ডিপফেক ভিডিও
December 14, 2023
Elections are going to be held in the United States, United Kingdom, India and Indonesia next year with concerns that deepfake videos will exacerbate election disinformation. In Bangladesh, deepfake video and audio containing misleading information are already beginning to gain traction.
Social Media Strategy: AL coordinated, BNP less so
Dec 22, 2023 12:00 AM
TGI is a policy lab with a mission to reduce equity and accountability gaps between technology platforms and the Global South. It works at the intersection of private technology companies, civil society and government.
2024, year of the deepfake? Artificial intelligence and the changing face of politics
19/12/2023 - 22:30
In content moderation, there’s moderation and then there’s the content. If 2023 was the year that AI went mainstream with ChatGPT, will 2024 be the year that deepfakes swing elections? A big year of campaigning awaits in Europe, India and the United States.
Bangladesh elections: censorship, AI deepfakes, and social media polarization
January 09, 2024
Citizens across more than 50 countries are expected to vote for their next government in 2024, putting democracy under a microscope worldwide. Bangladesh kicked off this long election season on January 7, and in the process struck the first blow to democratic values
Are social media platforms ready for record elections in 2024?
January 11, 2024
Despite the high stakes and evidence from previous polls of how fake online content can influence voters, digital rights experts say social media platforms are ill-prepared for the inevitable rise in misinformation and hate speech
AI disinformation spreading before Bangladesh polls
Fri Dec 15, 2023 12:00 AM
Sabhanaz Rashid Diya, a Tech Global Institute founder and former Meta executive, said a greater threat than the AI-generated content itself was the prospect that politicians and others could use the mere possibility of deepfakes to navigate uncomfortable information.
Draft Data Protection Act: Cabinet okays it giving free rein to law enforcers
Tue Nov 28, 2023 12:00 AM
In October, Access Now and Tech Global Institute sent recommendations to the law and ICT ministries on a later draft, which was presented before the cabinet yesterday.