A Mob Burned Bangladesh's Oldest Newspaper. The Label Came First.

A Facebook group with 68,000 members posted a photo of The Daily Star's building in Dhaka. A red cross marked the target. The caption said: "This country will not be safe until all Indian agents, including Prothom Alo and Daily Star, are Joy Bangla-ed."

Five days later, on December 18, 2025, a mob climbed seven floors and set the place on fire.

28 journalists spent hours trapped on the rooftop. Thick smoke saved the server room. The attackers smashed glass and looted equipment. The paper's sister publication, Prothom Alo, was hit the same night. Both temporarily stopped publishing for the first time in decades.

The Label Precedes the Match

The attack didn't start with violence. It started with a name.

"Indian agent" appeared in hundreds of posts across Facebook groups before a single window was broken. The Daily Star and Prothom Alo were accused of downplaying the assassination of student leader Sharif Osman Hadi. The accusation amplified Hadi's own anti-India rhetoric. The pattern was deliberate.

By the time the mob arrived, the label had already done its work. The newspapers weren't just foreign — they were dangerous. The violence became patriotic.

The editor of New Age, Nurul Kabir, tried to intervene. He was beaten and called an "Indian agent" by the mob.

A Pattern Older Than Print

Russia pioneered the modern version. "Foreign agent" laws targeted independent media starting in 2012. By 2017, they were shutting down newsrooms. The label turned journalism into treason.

The playbook spread. Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Hungary. Outlets accused of serving "foreign interests" face audits, fines, or worse. The legal mechanism varies. The result doesn't.

Bangladesh didn't need a law. Social media did the labeling. A Facebook group called itself the "Ultimate Anti-India Movement." Its posts identified "powerhouses" to target. The mob followed the map.

The Context Nobody Escaped

The attack happened during one of the most violent pre-election periods in Bangladesh's recent history. 11 journalists were attacked in December 2025. 16 more in January 2026. 47 in the first 10 days of February alone.

The student protests of 2024 toppled Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina after she cracked down on demonstrators. The revolution that brought down one autocrat created space for another kind of violence.

Elections were scheduled for February 2026. The mob came two months before.

The Method Matters More Than the Justification

The Daily Star filed a case against 350-400 people for vandalism, arson, and looting. An investigation by The Daily Star and Dismislab later concluded the attacks were scripted. The first call for violence appeared four days before the fire. The posts were coordinated. The timing wasn't random.

Human Rights Watch called it an attack on freedom of expression and democratic participation. The International Federation of Journalists said press freedom was critical to Bangladesh's democracy. Both statements are true. Both miss the mechanism.

The attack worked because the label did. Once a newspaper is named as foreign, the building becomes a target. The justification shifts from "this is wrong" to "this is necessary."

The pattern repeats because it works. Russia branded outlets as foreign agents and shut down newsrooms. Bangladesh branded papers as Indian agents and mobs showed up with matches.

The label turns journalism into betrayal. After that, burning the building is just cleanup.