Dhaka, Sept. 24 -- Bangladesh has long been a nation of rumour-mongers. In the social media age, a whole host of people -- from enthusiastic individuals to social groups to government functionaries -- have taken on the task of doctoring reality to present a distorted image or view.

In recent days, especially with such headline-catching events such as Prime Minister Tarique Rahman's visit to the United Nations, sycophantic spinning has reached a fever pitch.

Rumours -- whether deliberately spread or shared and amplified by gullible masses -- have always existed in society. There was a time, perhaps four or five decades ago, when rumours could only spread through word of mouth, where the "gullible masses" played the key part.

Nobody knew...