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: A viral video claims The New York Times published a story with the headline,  ‘Due to security concerns in Pakistan, Pakistan’s former Army Chief General Bajwa moved to America with his family.’  Fact: The headline is doctored and the claim is false. The New York Times did not publish such a headline or story […]

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Claim: Assistant Commissioner Karor Lal Esan issued a letter to Tehsildar Muhammad Iqbal and Naib Tehsildars Naeem Ud Din, Muhammad Tahir and Baz Khan demanding an explanation for their failure to attend a rally organized to express solidarity with the Pakistan Army. The letter specified that in case of a lack of response, disciplinary proceedings […]

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Claim: Iffat Omar conducted a poll on Twitter, asking respondents if they would or would not elect Imran Khan as the next prime minister, and 96% of respondents said that they would. Fact: A fake account impersonating Iffat Omar posted this tweet, which was later shared by the verified account of journalist Imran Riaz Khan, […]

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Claim: Pakistan won the World Polo Championship 2022 by beating Mexico in the Final 11-8.  Fact: Spain won the World Polo Championship 2022. The Pakistan team defeated Mexico in a match 11-8, placing it in 5th position in the world cup rankings.  On 9 November 2022, a Twitter handle called @CPEC_UPDATE claimed that Pakistan had […]

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Claim: According to Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, the Daily Mail UK has not been able to prove the allegations its journalist David Rose leveled against Shehbaz Sharif and his son-in-law. She also stated that the Sharif’s have “already won the case on the stage of presentation”, and the British publication deliberately delayed the defamation case. […]

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Claim: Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) medical director Dr Khalid Masud confirmed 12 torture marks on journalist Arshad Sharif’s body. Fact: Dr Khalid Masud told Soch Fact Check that he never confirmed whether the marks on Arshad Sharif’s body are a sign of torture.  Pakistani investigative journalist Arshad Sharif was murdered in Kenya, four […]

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Claim: Social media users speculate about the number of bullets that hit Imran Khan during the 3 November attack during his rally near Wazirabad. While some claim three or four bullets hit Khan, others allege that he faked his injuries and was not injured by any bullet.  Fact: Imran Khan did not fake his injuries. […]

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Claim: Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI) leader Ahmad Chatha has been shot dead. Fact: PTI leader Ahmad Chatha is alive and recovering. The news regarding his death is fake. On 3 November 2022, several social media posts claimed that PTI leader Ahmad Chatha, who was shot during the firing incident during a rally in Wazirabad, […]

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Claim: A notification signed by the District Magistrate Islamabad announced a lockdown in Islamabad. According to this notification, except for essential services such as healthcare and medical supplies, all institutions are to remain closed and the province cordoned off. Fact: This notification is fake. On 3 November 2022, several social media users shared a notification […]

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Claim: Pfizer executive Janine Small confessed in a recent revelation that Pfizer was never tested for its impact on preventing disease transmission.  Fact: Pfizer and German vaccine maker BioNTech published a study on the vaccine in 2020 for its approval from Food and Drug Administration (FDA) which did not include any data on transmission impact […]

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Claim: Maryam Nawaz played a video of Imran Khan making fun of her at her press conference, calling his insults “golden words”. Fact: The video was doctored. Imran Khan’s remarks were superimposed on top of a different video which Nawaz actually played at the press conference. On 28 October 2022, a digital content creator shared […]

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Claim: Viral images and videos of a girl crying over a body in a coffin apparently show the daughter of journalist Arshad Sharif, who was recently killed in Kenya.   Fact: The images and videos show Senator Usman Kakar’s daughter grieving her father who was murdered in 2019. On 23 October 2022, Pakistani journalist and news […]

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