As Bangladesh prepares for its upcoming national elections scheduled for February 2026, UNESCO Dhaka has convened representatives from digital platforms, civil society organisations (CSOs), and media development and fact-checking bodies to create a dedicated space for dialogue on digital risks and information integrity in electoral contexts.
The day-long, in-person workshop, organised in collaboration with Digitally Right under the UN Electoral Project (BALLOT), brought together more than 30 participants from at least 20 civil society organisations to examine emerging online threats to electoral discourse and explore collaborative, rights-based responses in support of the Bangladesh Election Commission (BEC).
The workshop featured online participations from META and TikTok to provide practical insights on community standards, reporting tools, enforcement policies, escalation
pathways and challenges related to AI-generated content and deepfakes, from an informational perspective only.
During the workshop participants, including senior CSO representatives, media development and fact-checking organisations alongside development partners and information integrity experts, addressed growing challenges posed by misinformation, disinformation, hateful content, AI-generated deepfakes on digital platforms, national trends, and their potential impact on public trust, voter confidence and social cohesion during election periods.
Throughout the sessions, participants consistently highlighted that traditional media-focused responses alone are insufficient, stressing the need for multi-stakeholder engagement, stronger digital literacy and improved understanding of platform governance and content moderation mechanisms.
Recent consultations conducted by UNESCO Dhaka under the BALLOT Project, as well as a CSO-level dialogue hosted by Digitally Right in November 2025, have underscored the increasing vulnerability of Bangladesh’s information ecosystem to the prevalence of mis/disinformation which threatens public trust in electoral processes.
With “UNESCO’s Guidelines for the Governance of Digital Platforms” as a foundation, the workshop aimed to foster a neutral and inclusive dialogue on electoral information integrity whilst strengthening practical awareness amongst CSOs and media development organisations on identifying, reporting and escalating harmful or misleading online content.
It also introduced relevant digital and human rights frameworks to support multi-stakeholder approaches to platform governance and online participation.
The workshop featured opening remarks from Dr Susan Vize, Head of Office and UNESCO Representative to Bangladesh, followed by a presentation on electoral information integrity and digital risks by UNESCO Senior Project Officer Mehdi Benchelah.
Additional presentations were delivered by FactWatch on fact-checking during elections and by Digitally Right on digital safety tools, offering practical insights for journalists, CSOs and other stakeholders working on election-related information integrity.
Through experience-sharing and collective discussions, participants identified potential follow-up areas under the BALLOT Project, particularly to strengthen online safety and information integrity for journalists and vulnerable groups during electoral periods. The outcomes of the workshop are expected to contribute to broader situational awareness amongst electoral stakeholders, including the BEC, and inform future initiatives aimed at supporting credible, transparent and peaceful electoral processes in Bangladesh.
READ MORE: https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/unesco-dhaka-brings-together-digital-platforms-civil-society-strengthen-electoral-information
