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 female American soldier is looking to connect with people online on Threads. Fact: The image of the female American soldier is AI-generated.  On 12 May 2024, a Threads account shared an image of an American female soldier with the caption: “Hello, Lets chat on Instagram”. Receiving more than 17,800 views and hundreds of […]

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Claim:  Several news outlets and social media users reported that Pakistan’s Sindh High Court ordered the government to revoke the ban on social media platform X, previously known as Twitter, within one week. Fact: This claim is false. The Sindh High Court did not issue a direct order to revoke the ban but instead gave […]

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Claim: The Afghan Taliban government has made a deal with the US government for the release of Dr Aafia Siddiqui, in exchange for seven American prisoners from Afghanistan. Aafia Siddiqui has reached Kabul.  Fact: Siddqui has not been released and no agreement regarding her release has been made between the US government and the Afghan […]

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Claim: Social media posts, particularly by Facebook user Muhammad Atif, allege that Pakistani students were killed during recent mob violence in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, starting from 18 May 2024. Fact: Despite reports of violent clashes impacting Pakistani students in Bishkek, there is no verified evidence to support the claims of deaths among them. Al Jazeera referred […]

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Claim:  A video posted by “Pyara Sindh Press Club Tando Allahyar” on Facebook claims to show Pakistani journalist Imran Riaz Khan dancing. Fact: The man in the video is actually Indian dance choreographer Varun Arora. On 14 May 2024, a video (archive) surfaced on Facebook showing a middle-aged man dancing energetically. The post by “Pyara […]

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Claim: A viral video shows Imran Khan arguing his case in front of the Supreme Court through a video call on 16 May 2024  Fact: Besides one photograph, no images or videos of Imran Khan’s video call were recorded on the day of the hearing. In that one photograph, he is wearing a light blue […]

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Claim: Punjab Police Sargodha District Police Officer (DPO) Asad Ejaz Malhi stated that videos depicting a victim of an attempted lynching on 25 May 2024 in Sargodha’s Mujahid Colony were “fake” and that no one was seriously injured in the incident. Fact: Multiple sources including eyewitness accounts, statements from affected families, and other videos taken […]

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Claim: Rahat Fateh Ali Khan has passed away on 15 May 2024 Fact: According to his manager Maroof Ali Khan, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan is alive and well On 15 May 2024, a viral Facebook post claimed that renowned Pakistani singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan had passed away.  Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, a Pakistani Qawwali […]

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Claim: A photograph shows a woman and children who were shot by the Taliban in the city of Mazar-e-Sharif for driving past the Tir checkpoint. Fact: The photograph is from 2022 when more than 23 people died in Murree due to prolonged exposure to extreme cold. In early May 2024, several social media users shared […]

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Claim: A social media post makes several claims about Muslims in the UK, including but not limited to identifying mayors of several cities as Muslim, stating that most Muslims do not work and instead claim state benefits, and alleging there are over 3,000 mosques in the UK. Fact: All the claims made in the post […]

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Claim:  Venus Williams forfeited a tennis match against a transgender woman. Fact: No credible reports confirm this allegation. The claim originated on social media platforms in late 2023 and resurfaced in April 2024. However, our investigation reveals it to be entirely false and based on a parody article published by the satire website Conservative Tears. […]

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Claim: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has successfully cleared all its liabilities, debts, and arrears ahead of privatisation. Fact: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has not cleared its liabilities and debts. PIA itself released a statement clarifying that its debts have not been cleared. On 3 April 2024, Economy.pk published an image (archive) on their Instagram page […]

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