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: PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif was severely upset at the recent Supreme Court decision and announced a political split from PPP leader Asif Ali Zardari. Fact: Several viral Facebook posts doctored videos of Nawaz Sharif’s address at the Asma Jahangir Conference 2021, his speech at a political rally in Lahore from 13 December 2020 and […]

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Claim: Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif has publicly endorsed a “soft intervention” in the country by the Pakistan Army and has said that if a soft intervention can lead to any sort of benefit to the country, then he is ready to accept it. Fact: Capital TV spread a false headline claiming that Prime […]

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Claim: Journalist Imran Riaz Khan is collecting donations online to help disabled people in Pakistan. Fact: Imran Riaz Khan’s Twitter account was hacked and a PayPal scam was shared through a tweet. The journalist uploaded a video warning people not to interact with his account or make any donations.  On 30 July 2022, journalist Imran […]

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Claim: A viral image shows a young girl who drowned in Balochistan during the recent monsoon flooding in Pakistan.  Fact: The viral image is of a girl who drowned in River Kabul, Peshawar and was found by rescue services near Attock. On 27 July 2022, an image of an infant’s dead body went viral on […]

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Claim: An Israeli journalist visited Makkahand Madina in July 2022 during the time of Hajj (7-12 July) on a permit issued by the Saudi government.   Fact: Israeli journalist Gil Tamary entered Makkah unlawfully with the help of a Saudi man who was later arrested by Saudi authorities.  On 20 July 2022, a Facebook page called […]

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Claim: Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif has announced his resignation and will be dissolving the country’s assemblies.  Fact: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has made no such announcement.  On 18 and 19 January 2022, several pages shared videos on Facebook with different variations of the caption, “شہباز شریف نے نئے الیکشن کی تاریخ دیدی اور […]

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Claim: Pakistan is a top destination for countries to dump their waste, with most countries opting to dispose of their waste in Pakistan.  Fact: According to publicly available information, Pakistan’s relative share in the import of global waste is small. The misinformation appears connected to reports that 40 No Objection Certificates (“NOCs”) were issued to […]

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Claim: The current PMLN-led coalition government has not allocated any funds to the Kashmir Affairs & Gilgit Baltistan Division under the Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) for the 2022-2023 financial year.   Fact:  Gilgit Baltistan & Azad Jammu & Kashmir (also known as Pakistan-administered Kashmir) will receive a combined total of PKR 52.6 billion under the […]

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Claim: Multinational Japanese automobiles manufacturer Suzuki has decided to discontinue the GS150 motorcycle in Pakistan and launch a new motorcycle with a 125cc engine.  Fact: Suzuki has not announced any plans to discontinue the GS150 motorcycle in Pakistan and launch a new 125cc motorcycle.  On 23 June 2022, Startup Pakistan shared an image on their […]

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Claim: According to a video shared online, a Western judge decided to forgive a 15-year-old boy who was apprehended for stealing bread for his ailing mother. The video ends with a statement about how Pakistan’s judges are failing, while judges in the Western World are carrying out justice.  Fact: The claim made in the video […]

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Claim: In a viral video, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif can be heard calling for protest against his own government.  Fact:  Sharif’s 27 March address to his followers in the context of the Mehngai Mukao March was doctored to make it seem like the PM criticised his own government.   On 18 and 19 June 2022, a […]

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Claim: Official PTI handles, digital media outlets, and think tanks have uploaded congratulatory messages to their social media pages claiming Pakistan has been removed from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list. Grey list-designated countries are those which are required to make commitments to take stronger measures against the financing of criminal activities such […]

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