Mashiur Rahman Selim, Cumilla South

The proliferation of fake media personnel has reached alarming levels across Laksham, Lalmai, Nangalkot, and Monoharganj upazilas in southern Cumilla. Equipped with identity cards from obscure publications and cameras slung over their shoulders, fraudsters masquerading as journalists are intimidating locals, extorting money, and engaging in widespread deception.

Sources within regional media circles reveal that many individuals posing as journalists lack the qualifications for legitimate reporting. Incapable of writing their own news, they plagiarize content from mainstream outlets to pass off as their own.

A syndicate of fake journalists across all southern upazilas remains actively involved in lobbying, commercial extortion, sycophancy toward political leaders, and executing political agendas within local administrative offices and police stations.

Most local meetings and gatherings draw dozens of attendees claiming to be journalists, the majority of whom are fraudulent and unable to verify where their work is published. Furthermore, individuals are exploiting YouTube channels, online portals, and Facebook pages to defraud people across various professions. While multiple senior journalistic organizations operate across the upazilas, numerous independent impostors operate outside these bodies, driving many genuine professionals to contemplate leaving the field.

Although national policy guidelines exist, enforcement remains lacking. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Home Affairs and Police Headquarters are reportedly preparing nationwide measures to crack down on such fake media personnel and individuals roaming under the guise of human rights activists.