Claim: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has said it will not be able to conduct general elections within three months due to procedural and legal challenges. Fact: The ECP clarified on 5 April 2022 that it did not issue any statement concerning early elections in Pakistan. Fact or Fiction? On 5 April 2022, Hello […]
Claim: World Bank data from 2020 to 2022 suggests that Pakistan has the lowest unemployment rate in South Asia. Fact: The latest data available is up to the year 2020, not 2022. Further, that data suggests that in 2020, Bhutan had the lowest unemployment rate in South Asia, not Pakistan. Fact or Fiction? On 22 […]
Claim: A video circulating on social media shows a minor Hindu girl who was kidnapped by a man in Pakistan being forcibly converted to Islam. Fact: The video does not show a forced conversion but a man who identified as a pir [faith healer] giving electric shocks to exorcise jinn [djinn] from a young girl, […]
Claim: Prime Minister Imran Khan said that India’s foreign policy is better than Pakistan’s. He also said that the Indian Army is not corrupt and that it never interferes in the matters of the civilian government. Fact: While the prime minister did laud India’s foreign policy in his 20 March 2022 address, he did not […]
Claim: Usman Mirza and five others have been sentenced to life imprisonment by a sessions court in Islamabad on 25 March 2022 for holding a young couple hostage at gunpoint in E-11 and sexually assaulting them. Fact: Apart from prime accused Mirza, four others — Hafiz Ataur Rehman, Adaras Qayyum Butt, Mohib Bangash and Farhan […]
Claim: Russian model who criticised President Vladimir Putin in January 2021 on social media has been found dead. Her remains were found in a suitcase on 13 March 2022. Fact: Model Gretta Vedler has been found dead a year after she went missing following her anti-Putin remarks on social media. Her death does not appear […]
Claim: A video circulating on social media shows Russia dropping a thermobaric or vacuum bomb on civilian areas in Ukraine. Fact: The video is in fact from 2015 and depicts a deadly blast in the Chinese port city of Tianjin. Fact or Fiction? On 10 March 2022, Facebook user Habib Khan Meryani shared a video […]
Claim: Russian President Vladimir Putin tried to embarrass a Japanese delegation by bringing his dog to a recent official meeting. Fact: The video is not recent but from 2016, showing Putin meeting two Japanese journalists along with his dog at the Kremlin. Fact or Fiction? On 11 March 2022, Facebook user Imran Lashkarani shared a […]
Claim: Poultry in Sindh and Balochistan are infected with different viruses that can be transmitted to humans such as Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) and Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD). Fact: No virus has been detected in poultry across Pakistan as confirmed by the Pakistan Poultry Association. Fact or Fiction? On March 14, Facebook page Balochistan TV […]
Claim: The Government of Pakistan has announced a three-day public holiday across the country. Fact: The government did announce a three-day holiday from 22 March to 24 March 2022 but in Islamabad only, in connection with the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers meeting. Fact or Fiction? On 10 March 2022, Express […]
Claim: Pakistan’s embassies in Europe have been ordered to divert funds to Ukraine to evacuate Pakistani nationals from the war-torn country as no Pakistanis have been evacuated so far. The embassies are in need of funds; they cannot even afford to pay salaries to their employees. Fact: The official Twitter account of Pakistan’s Embassy in […]
Claim: Photos depict French President Emmanuel Macron after an 8 March 2022 call with Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding the invasion of Ukraine. Fact: The photos do depict Emmanuel Macron but were not taken on 8 March 2022. Fact or Fiction? On 8 March 2022, Visegrád 24 tweeted photos of French President Emmanuel Macron, claiming […]