From fun project to corruption tracker: ‘Ghush.site’ goes viral

What began as a small project to create an easy way for people to share experiences of being asked for bribes has quickly turned into a widely used online platform, with ‘ghush.site’ receiving 4,361 complaints involving alleged bribe demands totalling Tk79.66 crore within four days of its launch.

Launched on 21 August, the platform allows people to anonymously report alleged demands for bribes while seeking government services.

As of Tuesday evening, Dhaka had recorded the highest number of complaints, with 1,942 reports involving alleged bribe demands totalling Tk47.59 crore. Chattogram followed with 1,004 complaints involving Tk11.93 crore.

Khulna recorded 318 complaints, followed by Rajshahi with 294, Rangpur 279, Mymensingh 180, Sylhet 174 and Barishal 170.

The figures, however, are based entirely on user submissions and have not been independently verified. The platform labels the reports as unverified and does not publish the names or identifying details of officials accused of demanding bribes.

From idea to viral platform

‘Ghush.site’ was founded by young entrepreneurs Shahed Sharif and Saif Kabeer, who were inspired by a similar initiative in India.

Shahed told the Daily Sun that they had not initially expected the project to attract such a large response. 
“I did not expect that so many people would use it or find it useful. That is where I started building it. After launching it, I asked Saif to share it, and then it suddenly went viral,” he said.

The response has prompted the founders to consider expanding the platform and developing additional features.

How it works

Users can submit complaints without creating an account or disclosing their identity. They are asked to provide details such as the government office, service sought, location and amount allegedly demanded, along with a description of their experience.

Submitted reports are moderated before publication. Personal information and other content that violates the platform’s rules are removed.

The founders stress that moderation does not mean that a complaint has been verified.

The platform is intended to document citizens’ reported experiences rather than establish individual cases of corruption. The founders also say it is not an investigative body or an alternative to the Anti-Corruption Commission.

Dhaka leads

Dhaka accounts for the largest share of complaints recorded on the platform, followed by Chattogram.

The founders believe that systematically collecting and categorising the reports could eventually help identify patterns in alleged bribery across different government services and parts of the country.

However, they acknowledge that the data would require independent verification before being used as evidence or for institutional purposes.

Reports submitted to the platform cover a range of services, including land-related matters, passport verification, vehicle fitness certificates and pension-related services.

Cautious approach

The founders are particularly cautious about publishing information that could identify people accused of taking bribes.

Shahed said some submissions contain names, but such details are not published because the allegations have not been independently verified.

The platform is currently being developed and operated by the founders, who are also looking at ways to make the moderation process more efficient as submissions increase.

Mobile app planned

The founders are considering launching a mobile application to make the platform easier to use.

Shahed said his studies and examinations were currently limiting the time he could devote to the project, but they hoped to move ahead with the app within the next one to two months.

“A mobile app would make it easier for people. We want to create a user-friendly system where people can simply download the app from the Play Store and use it easily,” he said.

What started as a small experiment has therefore quickly grown into a public platform attracting thousands of complaints.