Chinese Vloggers Film Dhaka Neighborhoods While Falsely Claiming Locations Are India

Chinese nationals have been livestreaming from impoverished neighborhoods in Dhaka, Bangladesh, for months while falsely portraying the locations as parts of New Delhi to audiences on Chinese social media platforms.

The activity is concentrated in the Uttara and Tekpara districts of northern Dhaka, where residents report that groups of vloggers frequently intrude into private homes and bathrooms to record footage.

Estimates regarding the number of participants vary, with local residents suggesting more than 5,000 people are involved, while other reports cite approximately 150 individuals active in the area.

The Indian Ministry of External Affairs condemned the broadcasts on Tuesday, describing the campaign as an unfortunate attempt to project a distorted and negative image of India to the public.

“Such efforts to present a distorted picture of any country are unfortunate,” said Randhir Jaiswal, the spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs.

Jaiswal added that the peddling of false narratives only undermines the credibility of those involved and urged the relevant authorities to take action against the individuals responsible.

The vloggers often use local guides to navigate the settlements, paying them between 700 and 800 Bangladeshi taka per day to assist with their filming operations in the narrow lanes.

One guide, Ritu Akhter, confirmed she had been working for the group for several months, noting that the vloggers earn money by posting content on platforms like WeChat and Douyin.

During their broadcasts, the participants frequently disparage Indian living conditions, sanitation, and food habits, often making derogatory claims about the poverty levels they allege to be documenting.

“This is New Delhi. Their homes are extremely dirty. There isn’t even a fan inside the tin-roofed houses,” said a vlogger identified as Mianmian during a recent livestream.

Local residents have expressed significant frustration with the constant presence of the camera crews, which often start filming before dawn and continue until late in the evening.

“Sometimes they enter our homes and start filming. We are not always properly dressed inside our houses,” said Rozina Khatun, a resident of the affected neighborhood.

While a vlogger named Fangyou told reporters that the livestreams were part of product promotion activities, investigators noted the specific focus on impoverished areas suggests a broader geopolitical motive.

Local police in the Uttara district have acknowledged observing the foreign nationals recording in the area, but officials stated that the precise motivations for the activity remain under administrative review.