Seven mainstream news outlets published a video claiming that a young man got into an argument with Ansar members after driving a motorcycle against traffic and identifying himself as the “don of Narayanganj district.”

The outlets were Desh TV, Bhorer Kagoj, Daily Bangladesh, Maasranga TV, Bhorer Kagoj, Daily Bangladesh and Gonokantho.

The video also circulated on social media with an additional claim that the motorcyclist was a leader of Jubo Dal, the youth wing of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party.

A verification by The Dissent found that neither claim was true. The confrontation shown in the video was not a real incident, and the young man on the motorcycle was not identified as a Jubo Dal leader. The footage was part of a scripted performance.

During the verification, The Dissent found a video posted on July 13 by a Facebook account named “Muhammad Razim.” The Bangla caption read: “Narayanganj’s Don Mani Agun — the law is equal for everyone, no one is above the law.”

The scenes in that video match those in the footage circulated by the news outlets.

A closer examination of the full video shows that the encounter was scripted rather than an authentic confrontation.

The Dissent then reviewed the Facebook account “Muhammad Razim.” Its bio reads: “New ID of the Narayanganj Don family, everyone please support and stay with us.”

Other videos posted by the account provide further evidence that the man who identifies himself as the “don of Narayanganj district” in the viral clip is performing a character. The same person appears in several videos playing different roles.

Examples can be seen here, here, here and here.

The evidence therefore shows that the video published by several news outlets as a real incident — in which Ansar members supposedly stopped a motorcyclist for driving against traffic and the rider responded by calling himself the “don of Narayanganj district” — was actually part of a staged performance.