Claim: News outlets reported that Twitter fired a man 24 hours after hiring him. Fact: The reports were based on tweets by @SaeedDiCaprio, who posted them as an elaborate joke. On 10 February 2023, four Nigerian news outlets published a news story titled, “Elon Musk allegedly fires man from Twitter 24 hours after hiring him.” […]
Claim: Numerous pictures of dogs have surfaced on the Internet with the claim they were part of rescue operations following the devastating Turkey-Syria earthquakes in February 2023. Fact: Many of these photos are not recent or related to the Turkey-Syria earthquakes in February 2023. On 6 February 2023, Turkey and Syria were hit by two […]
Claim: A visiting faculty member who included the Julie and Mark vignette as a question in a quiz paper for his students at the COMSATS University Islamabad was suspended following a moral uproar in Pakistan, according to the Express Tribune. Fact: Official documents show that the faculty member was not suspended but, in fact, terminated […]
Claim: A video shows a man burning what is claimed to be the Quran in a street in Sweden in January 2023 before another man punches and kicks him. Fact: The clip is not from Sweden, nor is it recent. It shows a man blowtorching the Quran in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 2021. On 23 January […]
Claim: A photo of a model walking on a ramp with a plaster cast on her leg during a fashion show in Pakistan. The model’s look is apparently inspired by the cast Imran Khan wore on his leg following a gun attack in 2022. Fact: The image is doctored. It is from a 2016 fashion […]
Claim: Pakistani website MM News says claims about the prediction of an earthquake in Pakistan, India or Afghanistan were “falsely attributed” to Dutch researcher Frank Hoogerbeets. It further states that none of the three aforementioned countries’ names or those of any other South Asian nation appeared on his Twitter account or the website of his […]
Claim: A video shows an Indian aeroplane making an emergency landing at an airport in Pakistan. Fact: The video was uploaded in September 2022 by YouTube channel BBB-Gaming, which flagged it as a “flight simulation” and “not real”. On 5 January 2023, Facebook page ‘Mr Joy YT’ uploaded a video showing an aeroplane marked ‘Air […]
Claim: Dutch researcher Frank Hoogerbeets tweeted a list of “safety rules [for] when an earthquake occurs”, including asking God for help. Fact: Hoogerbeets did not tweet such a list. On 8 February 2023, Twitter account @Frank_Hoogerbee (archive) posted a tweet stating “safety rules [for] when an earthquake occurs”. According to @Frank_Hoogerbee, these rules are as […]
Claim: A video shows a building collapsing following the Turkey earthquake. Fact: The video is, in fact, from Jeddah in Saudi Arabia and surfaced on the Internet at least a few days before the Turkey earthquake. On 7 February 2023, Twitter account @Richtasy posted a video showing a building crashing inwards as multiple vehicles are […]
Claim: CCTV footage shows a recent mugging at an ATM in Karachi. Fact: The CCTV footage is old and can be found online as early as April 2009. The video does not show a recent mugging at an ATM in Karachi. On 2 February 2023, Facebook user ‘Haris Gulzar’ posted a video (archive) showing what […]
Claim: Author Salman Rushdie recently said, “The large majority of peaceful Muslims don’t matter because I was attacked by just one Muslim who followed Quran. All religions are not same because they have not codified death to whoever doesn’t believe in their religion. On my life I want to warn the world that Islam will […]
Claim: ARY News on 9 February 2023 published a news report with the headline, “Student, 16, stabbed to death by schoolmates,” making it appear as if the incident occurred in Pakistan. Fact: The stabbing, in fact, took place in Haryana’s Faridabad district in India. ARY News’ report and relevant links on Facebook and Twitter are […]