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: Pakistan People’s Party has decided to suspend the membership of politician Aitzaz Ahsan over controversial remarks. Fact: Although there are demands within the party to suspend Aitzaz Ahsan, the Central Executive Committee of the party has made no such decision.  On 14 October 2022, mainstream news websites and social media posts reported that Pakistan […]

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Claim: PML-N MNA Ahsan Iqbal said that American president Joe Biden’s recent remarks questioning the safety of Pakistan’s nuclear program are because, like a father, he wants what is best for Pakistan.  Fact: Ahsan Iqbal did not make this comment, a Geo News Urdu parody account on Twitter did. On 15 October 2022, a journalist […]

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Claim: Mohenjo-Daro will likely be removed from the list of World Heritage sites.  Fact: Mohenjo-Daro was never under consideration for removal, and UNESCO has directed $350,000 to the recovery and restoration of heritage sites in Pakistan in the aftermath of the flood. On 4 September 2022, a Facebook post claimed that Mohenjo-Daro will likely be […]

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Claim: An Express News bulletin quoting a purported FBR notification claimed the federal government exempted all taxes on the import of bulletproof vehicles for high-ranking military generals. Fact: According to the FBR, no such notification has been formally issued yet, although the tax exemption is indeed under the Prime Minister’s consideration. Since the policy hasn’t […]

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Claim: BISP accounts designated for receiving flood relief donations have been hacked. Fact: BISP officially clarified that none of their accounts were hacked. No reports claiming recipients have suffered such fraud have surfaced. On 19 September 2022, former deputy speaker of the National Assembly and member of Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI) Qasim Khan Suri […]

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Claim: A viral image appearing to be a news update claimed PTI leader Shahbaz Gill said, “I do not wish to maintain political ties with Imran Khan” Fact: Shahbaz Gill did not make such an announcement. He remains a senior PTI leader and close ally of Imran Khan. The image is doctored. On 17 September […]

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Claim: A screenshot of Afghan cricket player Farid Malik apologising after for a recent on-field feud with Pakistan’s Asif Ali was widely shared on social media Fact: The Twitter account purportedly representing Farid Malik is fake, and neither player has issued an apology for the verbal spat, which turned violent. Pakistan’s cricket team faced off […]

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Claim: According to British journalist Julia Hartley-Brewer, extreme weather events are not increasing worldwide Fact: Extreme weather events are increasing across the globe, especially in North America, Europe and Asia, according to the Summary for Policymakers report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). On 2 September 2022, Talk TV, a recently launched British […]

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Claim: Journalist Waqas Ahmed has started working at the International Human Rights Foundation (IHRF). Fact: Both Waqas Ahmed and the IHRF deny the claim. On 25 August 2022, a Twitter account called Standup Pakistan shared a tweet claiming that 29-year-old journalist Waqas Ahmed is the first Pakistani to work for the IHRF. This tweet gained […]

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Claim: A new iOS update automatically activated a  feature that shares users’ precise location on Instagram for all other users on the platform to see. Fact: The location setting is built into the device and cannot be automatically switched on through an iOS update. Instagram has officially denied this claim. On 26 August 2022, a […]

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Claim: PML-Q MNA Monis Elahi has joined Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf Fact: Monis Elahi has officially rejected any claims regarding him joining PTI and he has also published a tweet rejecting the viral image of a notification claiming the same.  On 19 August 2022, several twitter users shared an image which claimed to be a […]

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Claim: Imran Khan was voted Best Prime Minister by 93% of Pakistanis in a survey conducted by Arab Magazine Fact: Arab Magazine did not conduct a survey where Imran Khan was polled Best Prime Minister by 93% of Pakistanis. On 15 August 2022, a Twitter user shared an image which claimed that 93% Pakistanis believe […]

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