Making a Video Documentary on Fake News and Disinformation in Bangladesh: Critical Reflections and Learning

Abstract

The issue of fake news and disinformation remains widespread in Bangladesh. The author produced a video documentary “Making OR Faking” that focuses on how this issue affects journalism practices in the mainstream media in Bangladesh. In this piece, the author reflects on how the making of the documentary shaped his understanding of the issue. Undertaking a qualita-tive approach, the author used semi-structured interviews to explore the insights and perspectives of key informants. Critical reflections on the metho-dological aspects of the filmmaking process highlight the challenges in pro-cessing the construction of meaning through moving images. The analyses of the findings underscore the conceptual issues in understanding fake news and disinformation, the emergence of fake news in Bangladesh, and the impacts on the mainstream media. The article also explores potential ways to tackle this issue. parts—scope and key reflections and and conclusions.