Areesha Rehan

Areesha Rehan is a fact-checker at Soch Fact Check. She has a BSc in Social Development and Policy from Habib University and a minor in history. She previously worked as an editor for Tezhib, an undergraduate research journal at Habib University. Her areas of interest include post-colonialism, feminism and Marxism. She is passionate about animal welfare and walkable cities.

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Claim: Imran Khan said “I know Daily Mail did not genuinely apologize” with regards to the Daily Mail apology to Shahbaz Sharif.  Fact: The false quote has been edited onto a Geo Headline template. Geo has neither published this statement nor has Imran Khan made such a statement.  On 8 December 2022, the Daily Mail […]

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Claim: Pakistan is shutting down its consulate in Kandahar, Afghanistan, to protest against the Taliban government.  Fact: The official Twitter account of the Consulate General of Pakistan, Kandahar, was hacked on 2 December 2022. The hacked account tweeted the false claim that the consulate would shut  down for two days to protest against the Taliban […]

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Claim: Viral social media messages claim that applications for Canada’s visa lottery program are open. It says that the Canadian Government has increased the number of visas issued to people through visa lottery by 500% in 2022. The viral message is accompanied by a link to sign up for the visa lottery.  Fact: The claim […]

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Claim: Any US dollar notes below year 2021 will not be acceptable from January 2023. Fact: The US is not discontinuing the use of US dollar bills printed before 2021 from January 2023 onwards. On 5 November 2022, Observer Times shared an article with the given claim. It read, “Sequel to the just concluded extraordinary […]

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Claim: Sarmad Khoosat protested against the hanging of Zainab Ansari’s murderer the night before his execution.  Fact: Khoosat did not protest against Zainab’s murderer’s execution. He performed an act titled ‘No Time to Sleep’ on 10 October 2018 for World Day against the Death Penalty. The day was first organized by the World Coalition Against […]

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Claim: Imran Khan’s shooter was standing behind PMLN’s Imtiaz Azhar Bagri during an interview the day before  the shooting. Fact: The man standing behind Bagri is not the shooter. He has been misidentified.   On 3 November 2022, prominent journalist and commentator Moeed Pirzada shared a video of an interview with PMLN member Imtiaz Azhar Bagri. […]

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Claim: Multiple images are being shared on social media, claiming that scientists at universities have created models of what Adam and other Abrahamic prophets looked like. The models resemble contemporary celebrities. Fact: Scientists did not create 3D models of how the prophets looked. The images are part of a funny trend on social media. The […]

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Claim: Diaspora Pakistani Sarim Rashid flew out to Pakistan from the UK to cast a vote for PTI in the October 2022 by-elections. He flew in just in time for the elections and flew out three hours later back to the UK. Fact: Sarim Rashid did not fly to Pakistan on 16 October to cast […]

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Claim: A Twitter account claims to be a journalist from Nairobi, Kenya. The account posted consistent updates about Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif’s murder in Kenya. Pakistani social media users have been sharing the tweets as real news. Fact: The Twitter account is fake. The user has changed their Twitter username and handle multiple times. The […]

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Claim: A message that appears to be a NADRA alert claims that the authority has announced a new set of policies to streamline the process of obtaining an ID card. It lists down seven points detailing said policies.  Fact: The message is not an official NADRA alert. However, some of the seven points are true. […]

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Claim: Foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto gives a fierce and hostile rebuttal to the United States, telling Joe Biden to keep shut in response to him calling Pakistan one of the most dangerous nations in the world for owning nuclear weapons without any cohesion.  Fact: When asked about Joe Biden’s remarks during a press conference; Bilawal […]

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Claim: Multiple news content websites published clickbait headlines claiming white rice is as bad as candy, according to a new Iranian study.  Fact: The study did not claim that white rice is as bad as candy. The lead author stated that consuming a diet with high amounts of unhealthy and refined grains can be considered […]

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