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: The IDF claims that an audio clip of Hamas operatives discussing the blast at the al-Ahli hospital in Gaza, which killed hundreds of civilians, proves that Hamas was responsible for the tragedy. Fact:  The audio clip is not a credible source of evidence as it is mistranslated, edited, and contradicted by other sources of […]

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Claim: Salman Akram Raja tweeted hate speech about the Ahmedi community, calling them infidels.  Fact: The tweet was posted by a fake account impersonating Salman Akram Raja. Raja has clarified that he did not share a hateful message against the Ahmedi community.  On 21 February 2024, an account claiming to be lawyer and PTI leader […]

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Claim: PTI-backed independent winning candidates have joined the PML-N. Barrister Aqeel Malik is the 11th such candidate. Fact: Out of the nine independent candidates who joined the PML-N, only one of them was a PTI-backed independent candidate, Waseem Qadir from NA-121. Apart from him, the other independent candidates were already affiliated with PML-N or IPP […]

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Claim: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is set to form an alliance with PTI-P — the party’s breakaway faction led by Pervez Khattak — to form a coalition government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Fact:  The claim is false. Negotiations between PTI and PTI-P have been confirmed by the parties’ leaders, but the final announcement to form a government […]

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Claim: The courts have declared Salman Akram Raja’s victory. Nawaz Sharif has now lost another seat and he will continue to lose more.  Fact: The Lahore High Court issued a stay order on the election results from NA-128, Salman Akram Raja’s constituency, according to the court documents obtained by Soch Fact Check. The Election Commission […]

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Claim: In a viral video, PTI’s Yasmin Rashid announced that the 2024 election in Pakistan is rigged by international forces; PTI has been cornered from all sides, and so she supports Imran Khan’s decision to boycott the 2024 elections. Fact: The viral video is AI-generated. Dr Yasmin Rashid was indicted in the 9 May arson […]

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Claim: Nawaz Sharif boycotted the 2024 general elections in Pakistan in an emergency press conference on 7 February 2024. Fact: An old video clip from Nawaz Sharif’s press conference in July 2015 is being recycled to claim that it was taken right before the 2024 elections. On 7 February 2024, an X account posing to […]

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Claim: Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) has ended its alliance with Jehangir Tareen’s Istehkam Party within Punjab. Fact: PML-N did not announce a political separation from Jehangir Tareen’s Istehkam Party. A fake account pretending to be PML-N’s official account posted a false statement on X. On 8 February 2024, an X user,  @PMLNOFFICIAL published a post […]

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Claim: Ali Muhammad Khan has announced that he is leaving the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). Fact: Ali Muhammad Khan has not made any announcement about leaving the PTI. He was campaigning as an electoral candidate for the PTI hours after the false claim was made. On 6 February 2024, a post on X claimed that former […]

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Claim: Alison Wills from Canada supports Nawaz Sharif and PML-N for the upcoming election in Pakistan. Fact: @Alisonwills27 is a fake account on X. On 5 February 2024, this post was shared on X by user @Alisonwills27 with the caption: “My name is Alison Wills. I’m from Canada and I Support Nawaz Sharif”.  Fact or […]

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Claim: Futbol Club Barcelona has endorsed Nawaz Sharif and Pakistan Muslin League Nawaz (PML-N) by sharing a post on X with multiple tiger emojis.  Fact: The tiger emoji in FC Barcelona’s post on X is a symbol for their footballer Vitor Roque, whose nickname is Little Tiger. It is not an endorsement of Nawaz Sharif […]

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Claim: Video shows massive support from PTI workers as they fill the streets in Lahore in response to PTI’s call to protest in January 2024. Fact: This is an old video from when Imran Khan was en route to the Judicial Complex in Islamabad.  On 28 January 2024, a video shared on X, claimed to […]

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