Amid the complex issues surrounding immigration and its impact on Europe, particularly in terms of the rise in Islamic terrorism, a controversial development has occurred within French President Emmanuel Macron’s AFP news agency. It has come to light that AFP has appointed an editor with allegedly hardline Islamist views and a penchant for anti-Semitic sentiments.
Recently, Blitz, an internationally recognized anti-militancy newspaper, published two reports that shed light on a ghostwriter named Chandan Nandy. This individual had been consistently churning out false stories targeting Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy, key members of the cabinet, intelligence agencies, and prominent leaders of the ruling Awami League. This campaign of misinformation began in September of this year, coinciding with the efforts of a coalition of Islamists and jihadists, including the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI), to regain power with the support of Western nations and potentially transform Bangladesh into a neo-Taliban state.
On September 27, 2023, an individual named Qadaruddin Shishir took to his Facebook account to brand Blitz, a newspaper with a 20-year history of anti-militancy reporting, as a “propaganda website”. He did so solely because the newspaper did not align with Shishir’s radical Islamic, anti-Semitic, and anti-non-Muslim (targeting Jews, Christians, and Hindus) agenda.
Also read: Threat mail sent to Blitz editor Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury by anti-Bangladesh propagandists
Qadaruddin Shishir’s Facebook post appears to be a reaction to the two reports published in Blitz, which exposed the identity of ghostwriter Chandan Nandy and the Northeast News website. It is speculated that Shishir’s Facebook post was motivated by a fear of legal consequences, as further reports in Blitz may have exposed his suspected connections to Chandan Nandy’s anti-Bangladesh propaganda.
In this Facebook post, AFP staff Qadaruddin Shishir attempted to give credibility to Chandan Nandy imposter as “real Chandan Nandy”.
It’s noteworthy that Qadaruddin Shishir holds the position of Fact Check Editor at the French news agency AFP.
In his Facebook post, Qadaruddin Shishir referred to Zulkarnain Sami, an individual evading criminal charge, as a “Bangladeshi investigative journalist”. However, it is well-documented that Sami gained prominence in the media as a whistleblower through an Al Jazeera documentary. Additionally, Sami faces allegations of extortion over several years by falsely presenting himself as an “international journalist” working for Al Jazeera, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, and OCCRP.
Qadaruddin Shishir’s Facebook profile lists his identity as “Fact Check Editor AFP, OSINT trainer, Google News Initiative, and AAJA”.
According to our investigation, the Northeast News website was launched in late 2022, primarily with the objective of propagating anti-Bangladesh and anti-Awami League content. While the website presents itself as a digital news platform providing 24/7 coverage of Northeast India, focusing on states like Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland, and Arunachal Pradesh, it has, since September of this year, prominently featured propaganda articles attributed to someone named Chandan Nandy, both under his byline and “Northeast Desk”.
Notably, the “Contact Us” page of the Northeast News website lacks a physical address or phone number and offers no information about the individuals involved, including the editor’s name.
The ghostwriter, using the pseudonym ‘Chandan Nandy’, made his debut on the Northeast News website on September 3, 2023. Since then, he has penned a total of nine articles, targeting Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the ruling Awami League, members of the Bangabandhu family, and prominent government figures. Intriguingly, despite claiming to be a “senior journalist based in New Delhi”, there is no credible evidence to support this assertion.
Upon closer examination, it becomes evident that the real identity behind the pseudonym ‘Chandan Nandy’ likely belongs to an individual from Bangladesh -possibly a blogger who has been referred to as a “social media influencer” by a controversial talk-show host. This blogger has been actively promoting “Chandan Nandy” through his YouTube channel, hailing him as a “great writer” and a “scholar”. Such promotion raises suspicions about the true agenda of this blogger and strongly suggests that Chandan Nandy may, in fact, be the same individual behind this blog.
Extensive web searches failed to reveal any trace of this Chandan Nandy in the media, except for his presence on the Northeast News website since September 3 of this year. This strongly suggests that this newly emerged persona is nothing more than a ghostwriter with a clear agenda of defaming Bangladesh and its ruling party, possibly a citizen of Bangladesh.
Further investigation revealed another Chandan Nandy – a known journalist with a writing style distinctively different from that of the imposter.
Information about the real Chandan Nandy suggests a tendency to craft sensational and unsubstantiated stories primarily aimed at tarnishing India’s image. Such sensationalism is a well-known tactic in journalism. Commenting on Nandy’s work, an Indian journalist stated, “It’s an easy way to become popular in one’s peer group, but it also shows the depths to which the Lutyens media will stoop for personal gain. Such a callous disregard for a fellow Indian’s life has probably not occurred in the history of the Indian media”.
It is highly likely that the fake Chandan Nandy appropriated the identity of the real Nandy to advance his own agenda of peddling fake or sensationalized stories for quick popularity. These unethical attempts, however, have failed to capture public attention, largely because Northeast News is not widely recognized. Consequently, the individual behind the fake Nandy has resorted to new tactics, including featuring this ghost identity on a YouTube channel to garner more public attention.
The Blitz report has revealed a striking disparity between the writing style of ‘Chandan Nandy’ featured in Northeast News and the established writing patterns of India’s renowned journalist Chandan Nandy. This glaring contrast underscores the fact that the ghostwriter Chandan Nandy on Northeast News does not possess the attributes of a journalist. Instead, the individual behind ‘Chandan Nandy’ appears to have proficiency in English but lacks any substantive knowledge or experience in the field of journalism, let alone professional columnism.
There is a strong possibility that a junior-level or retired intelligence officer misled the fake Chandan Nandy, feeding him false information to create an illusion of access to high-level information. Curiously, a blogger has made strenuous efforts to depict Chandan Nandy as an individual with extensive sources of information in Bangladesh.
