Claim: Social media posts claim that the rate of the US Dollar against the Pakistani Rupee (USD-PKR) suddenly dove to PKR 207 on 28 July 2022, after hovering around PKR 240.
Fact: The claim is false. A glitch in the Google Currency Converter temporarily showed the rate as one USD to PKR 207.10, but the actual rate on 28 July 2022 was near PKR 240.
On 28 July 2022, Twitter account Bleed Green PK shared a picture with the caption; “US dollar crashed Rs.33 against Pakistani Rupees first time in the history of Pakistan.”
The image is a screenshot from Google which shows the USD-PKR exchange rate as one USD to PKR 207.10.
Fact or Fiction?
The image started circulating on social media on 28 July 2022.
Soch Fact Check investigated the matter and found that the State Bank of Pakistan reported the exchange rate on 28 July 2022 to be Rs 239 against 1 USD. The rupee was down Rs 3.92 or 1.63% on the day, according to the SBP.
Some social media users also pointed out that the image resulted from a temporary Google glitch and is now being shared as true news on social networking sites.
Virality
Soch Fact Check conducted a CrowdTangle analysis for the 3 day period from 28 July to 30 July 2022 using the following search term:
- “US Dollar crashed Rs 33”
The keyword turned up 1,200 interactions, with one public post by the Bleed Green Pk Facebook page alone garnering 800 likes, 282 comments and 90 re-shares.
The image was also shared as authentic news here, here and here.
Conclusion: The US dollar did not crash to PKR 207 against the Pakistani rupee in July 2022. A temporary glitch in the Google Currency Converter confused users as an image of the incorrect exchange rate began to do the rounds on social media.