“They have flooded social media with fake news, rumours and speculation. We are concerned about the impact this may have on the elections,” the chief adviser added.

High Commissioner Türk said he was aware of the problem and offered the support of the UN human rights office to address what he described as a growing misinformation challenge.

“There is a lot of misinformation. We will do whatever is needed,” Türk said, adding that the UN rights agency would work closely with Bangladesh to tackle the issue.