Areeba Fatima

Areeba Fatima is a senior fact-checker and investigative reporter. She studied Anthropology at Lahore University of Management Sciences. She has also worked with Fact Focus on an Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) investigation, the Suisse Secrets. She loves working with large datasets to extract meaningful information. She is interested in internet governance, financial crime, political corruption and emerging technologies.

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Claim: An image shows Mia Khalifa delivering a lecture at Shah Latif University in Khairpur.  Fact: The photograph is from Mia Khalifa’s talk at the Oxford Union. On 25 May 2023, a Facebook page called Khairpur Waley shared an image claiming to show Mia Khalifa delivering a lecture at Shah Latif University in Khaipur. The […]

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Claim: Viral video from Pakistan shows a fraudulent vegetable seller who can be seen cheating the scales with a customer. Fact: The video is actually from Egypt, and the vendor was eventually arrested by the Consumer Protection Department of the country. On 19 March 2023, former Special Advisor to the Prime Minister for Tourism Coordination […]

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Claim: Former president of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari, is dead. Fact:  Asif Ali Zardari underwent a minor eye surgery in Dubai, which was performed successfully, and his health is gradually improving. On 28 March 2023, a viral tweet expressed sorrow for the death of Asif Ali Zardari, claiming that it has not yet been publicly […]

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Claim: A picture depicts the April 2023 meeting between Nawaz Sharif and Muhammed bin Salman as the former visited Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah. Fact: Soch Fact Check found the image is from 2016 when the Saudi crown prince visited Pakistan and met Nawaz Sharif. The pictures and videos, although real, have been taken out […]

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Claim: The Khorasan Diary reported that the US Forces employed long-range drones to carry out a drone strike in Ismailkhil Mandozai district of Khost province in southeastern Afghanistan. According to these screenshots, the US sought the help of locals to find their targets in Afghanistan. Fact: Founders of The Khorasan Diary, Iftikhar Firdous and Ihsanullah […]

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Claim: Imran Khan shared a video as “evidence of the rape of women” who are in police custody after coming out in support of PTI. Fact: A fake account pretending to be affiliated with Imran Khan shared an old video out of context to claim that it shows video evidence of women who support PTI […]

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Claim: A video on Facebook shows Iman Mazari screaming at a police officer because her mother, Shireen Mazari, was being tortured in the adjacent room after her recent arrest. Fact: The video is from 2022 when Iman Mazari intervened in a case of custodial torture by the police against a random citizen. It is being […]

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Claim: A viral image shows a girl who jumped off  a flyover into a river in Jhelum to prove her love for a boy who “escaped immediately”. The girl was later saved by a rescue team.  Fact: The image, in fact, shows a woman who had jumped from the Trimmu Barrage Bridge in Tehsil 18 […]

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Claim: Journalist Shaheen Sehbai shared a video claiming it shows the recent brutality of law enforcement agencies against civilian protesters.  Fact: Journalist Shaheen Sehbai shared a clip taken during a 2009 Swat operation, where Pakistani soldiers are seen torturing and beating Taliban suspects in the original 10-minute-long video. On 19 May 2023, Shaheen Sehbai shared […]

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Claim: Geo News published Zulfi Bukhari’s statement claiming that since he is a British citizen, he will not be able to come to Pakistan for Al-Qadir Trust case hearings. Fact: The screenshot is doctored. Geo News did not publish any such statement by Zulfi Bukhari.  On 24 May 2023, a screenshot of what appears to […]

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  Claim: Journalist Amir Mateen shared an old video of police brutality in the current context of political turmoil in Pakistan. Fact: The video is from September 2019 when an SHO in Multan assaulted women on camera.  On 20 May 2023, journalist Amir Mateen shared a video on Twitter, with the caption “What’s going on […]

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Claim: Khadija Shah, granddaughter of former COAS Asif Nawaz Janjua, recorded a video endorsing Imran Khan right before surrendering to the police. The clip has been widely shared on WhatsApp. Fact: The viral video is a TikTok of PTI activist Maya Haider, it does not show Khadija Shah. On 24 May 2023, a video went […]

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