Center condemns coordinated anti-India campaign allegedly by Chinese vloggers portraying places in Dhaka as Delhi

Representative image. | Photo credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal condemned an alleged coordinated anti-India campaign by a group of Chinese vloggers and livestreamers who filmed in Dhaka’s slums and falsely presented the locations as parts of New Delhi.

Mr. Jaiswal said efforts to present a distorted image of any country were unfortunate.

According to an investigative report published by the Bangladeshi newspaper Prothom Alo, about 150 Chinese nationals are documenting impoverished neighborhoods in the Bangladeshi capital and broadcasting the footage as scenes from India.

The ongoing operation involves Chinese vloggers filming in the narrow streets of Dhaka’s Tekpara and Uttara districts and then transmitting the live content over digital networks, falsely claiming that the broadcast originates from New Delhi.

“We have seen media reports in this regard. Such efforts to present a distorted image of any country are unfortunate. As for efforts by foreign elements to portray parts of Dhaka as Delhi, spreading false narratives only undermines the credibility of the actors involved and those behind them in such an exercise,” Jaiswal added.

The investigation points to specific cases, including a Chinese national identified as “Mianmian,” who said she was from China’s Sichuan province, who was live-streaming near a canal in Uttara’s Sector 12 on November 1.

Presenting the location to online viewers, she introduced it as the capital of India and launched into a scathing critique of the local infrastructure.

“This is New Delhi. Their homes are extremely dirty. There is not even a fan inside the tin-roofed houses. This place is quite backward, dirty and unsanitary and the law and order situation is bad,” Prothom Alo quoted her as saying.

A separate individual, identified as “Wang Wei”, was documented recording a tea vendor operating in Tekpara, Dhaka, making a derogatory remark that the tea consumed by residents was prepared using “cow urine”.

Other comments captured during the live streams included unsubstantiated claims regarding domestic living arrangements, with some participants claiming to have lived in settlements alongside local spouses after marrying in India.

Chinese citizens are said to be broadcasting through Chinese social media platforms, particularly Douyin, China’s domestic short video platform, and WeChat, China’s messaging and social networking platform.

While one participant, ‘Fangyou’, claimed to Prothom Alo that the broadcasts were part of commercial promotional activities, investigators noted that the selection of specific impoverished settlements to denigrate Indian living standards points to broader psychological or geopolitical narratives.

Local residents interviewed during the investigation expressed growing concern over the intrusive nature of the recordings, noting that film crews often bypassed the border without permission.

Prothom Alo has documented cases where vloggers have entered private living spaces, kitchens and outbuildings without the residents’ prior consent.

The investigation further revealed that local middlemen were helping foreign nationals navigate the urban settlements, with the guides being paid between 700 and 800 Bangladeshi taka per day.

While local law enforcement agencies at the Uttara West police station acknowledged watching foreign nationals recording footage in the district, officials confirmed that the exact motivations behind the systematic misrepresentation of locations remained under administrative review.

Media reports clearly indicate a coordinated anti-India campaign. Deliberately attributing the location and living conditions of another country to India, accompanied by derogatory comments that could affect the perception of Indian society among international audiences, is considered disturbing.

(With inputs from ANI)

Published – 10 Nov 2026 18:31 IST