Claim: An image is being shared on social media showing that the Pakistan flag normally raised on the KMC building has been replaced by a PPP flag.
Fact: The image has been doctored, the PPP flag has not been raised on the KMC building, and the Pakistan flag is still where it has always been.
On September 7, multiple social media users shared an image of a PPP flag hoisted on the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) head office in Saddar. Soch Fact Check found this claim on Twitter as well as Facebook. This image was also Tweeted by Arsalan Taj, a PTI MPA in Sindh, who has a verified account and 75.2k followers. Many posts sharing this image used different versions of the following caption:
“Even during #MQMPakistan Mayor’s tenure, the flag of Pakistan at the building of #Karachi Municipal Corporation had never been replaced with Party’s flag, But now just look at this small piece of their anti-state stunts, flag of #PPP is hoisting there. #ShameOnPPP.”
Soch Fact Check visited the KMC building in question on September 9 and found that the Pakistan flag was still raised where it has always been. Moreover, there was no PPP flag in sight. Two traffic policemen who are regularly stationed outside the KMC building, a lemon soda seller whose cart is parked at the corner of the building everyday, and an employee at an electronics store across the street, all confirmed that the Pakistan flag had not been replaced with the PPP flag at any point.
Furthermore, a simple Google Reverse Image Search reveals that the image being shared is actually from 2014, and the PPP flag has been doctored onto the building.
Summary: The Pakistan flag is still hoisted on the KMC building in Saddar. It was never replaced by a PPP flag.
Research Associate: Ammar Zardari