False and distorted information has been spread for a long time regarding Faraz Ayaz Hossain, who was killed in the Gulshan Holey Artisan attack. One newspaper attempted to portray him as a ‘brave young man,’ which amounts to historical distortion. These actions have been referred to as irresponsible journalism by the concerned parties. Recently, a Facebook post by Ahmed Zayef, a former crime reporter for 'Prothom Alo', titled ‘Coverage of Radicalism by 'Prothom Alo' and My Experience,’ has sparked renewed discussion.

In the Facebook post, Ahmed Zayef states that Faraz, who was killed in the Gulshan Holey Artisan attack, was the grandson of Latifur Rahman, the chairman of Transcom Group and the owner of 'Prothom Alo'. *Prothom Alo* published news, columns, opinions, and tributes portraying him as a ‘brave young man’ who ‘stood by his friends in danger.’ *Prothom Alo* reported that the militants, because Faraz was Muslim, wanted to release him, but Faraz refused to leave his friends, which led to their deaths. However, Ahmed Zayef claims that the source of this narrative is a report published by *The New York Times* on July 2, 2016, which he says is baseless.

He explains that the information published by *The New York Times* was false. The militants began their killings immediately after the attack, as established by eyewitnesses. No one who survived the hostage situation reported any such incident. Even *Prothom Alo* failed to publish any detailed news on the matter. Yet, the newspaper continued to publish various columns, opinions, and tributes about Faraz, which he describes as irresponsible journalism.