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 Governor Sindh Kamran Tessori in police custody 15 years ago for stealing a bike.  Fact: The image actually shows Governor Sindh Kamran Tessori in police custody for allegedly being involved in a police encounter in 2008.  On 11 April 2023, Haqeeqat TV shared an image on Twitter of Sindh Governor Muhammad […]

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Claim: A mosque appeared in an Algerian desert after a sandstorm.  Fact: The pictures represent two separate structures present in El Oued, Algeria, suspected to be a village.  On 17 April 2023, a Twitter account (@Arabbeau) posted two pictures with the caption, “A mosque appeared in the desert after a sandstorm – Algeria.” The pictures […]

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Claim: Passengers refused to travel with Nawaz Sharif in an airplane Fact: A doctored screenshot falsely claims that journalist Rana Waheed reported that passengers refused to travel with Nawaz Sharif. Rana Waheed clarified that he did not report this.  On 11 April 2023, a pro-PTI Twitter account posted a tweet sharing a screenshot which claims […]

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Claim: Maryam Nawaz Sharif recently said in an interview that it is time for Imran Khan to be erased.  Fact: A snippet of an old interview of Maryam Nawaz Sharif was taken out of context to imply that she believes that it is time Imran Khan to be “erased”. The complete sentence is: “Zulm jab […]

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Claim: Addressing a crowd at Zaman Park, Imran Khan said he would never take a loan when he becomes prime minister. Fact: Imran Khan did not say that he will never take a loan when he becomes prime minister during the 21st iftar Zaman Park address. On 12 April 2023, Neo News published an article […]

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Claim: A video posted by Tiktok user @badshahkhan123pti shows a beeper from journalist Hamid Mir’s show that says “Imran Khan’s historic jalsa at minar-e-pakistan lahore” and claims that it is from Imran Khan’s recent March 2023 rally. Fact: The beeper from Hamid Mir’s show is not from Imran Khan’s recent March 2023 Jalsa at the […]

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Claim: A study found lab-grown meat from a Bill Gates-backed company causes cancer. Fact: The claim is false and based on a misinterpretation of a study that did not test any lab-grown meat products funded by Gates. The study tested a plant-based meat product backed by Gates but found no link to cancer. On March […]

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Claim: Salman Ahmad of Junoon has been arrested recently. Fact: Old videos of Salman Ahmad being arrested were shared out of context. On 25 March 2023, YouTuber Imran Riaz Khan shared a tweet claiming Salman Ahmad, a former member of the band Junoon, had been arrested. At the same time, a video was shared on […]

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Claim: Viral video showing snowfall is from Sibbi, Balochistan.  Fact: Viral video showing snowfall is from Ziarat, Balochistan.  On 24 March 2023, multimedia journalist Fahmidah Yousfi uploaded a video on Twitter claiming that it shows snowfall in Sibi, Balochistan. She captioned the video: “Sibi, the hottest spot in Pakistan, never had snow in living memory. […]

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Claim: Video clips uploaded on Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok show raining worms in China. Fact:  The videos actually show catkins and not worms. Catkins are a cylindrical flower from poplar trees which appears to be wriggling in the rain, giving the appearance of worms. From 11 March 2023, Twitter, Facebook and TikTok were flooded with […]

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Claim: Law enforcement agencies were acting strictly in accordance with a court order and upholding the rule of law when they attempted to arrest Imran Khan at his Zaman Park residence on 14 March 2023. Fact: Soch Fact Check spoke to six lawyers who believe the Zaman Park operation was not conducted in a lawful […]

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Claim: Miftah Ismail said that Imran Khan is a good politician, the military helped remove him from power, and elections should be held within 90 days. Fact: Miftah Ismail’s interview with We News was taken out of context. Three separate sentences were spliced together, which inaccurately portrayed his views as supporting Imran Khan. On 20 […]

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