Claim: A video shows a cat dangling from a spectators’ deck in a Qatar stadium and later saved by fans standing below during the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Fact: The video is unrelated to the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar and is, in fact, from the United States, where fans caught the cat in […]
Claim: A picture shows former Pakistan Army chief General (r) Qamar Javed Bajwa arriving at a stadium in Rawalpindi to watch a cricket match between Pakistan and England. Fact: The image is, in fact, from 2019, when Bajwa went to London to watch a cricket match between Pakistan and South Africa. On 4 December 2022, […]
Claim: A satellite video shows the destruction wrought by the November 2022 earthquake in West Java, Indonesia. Fact: The video is, in fact, from the 7.5-magnitude earthquake and tsunami that hit Indonesia on 28 September 2018. On 30 November 2022, Express News posted a clip on its verified Facebook page showing what it claimed was […]
Claim: A social media post claims that “condoms cannot prevent HIV” amid reports of a rise in HIV-positive cases in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad. Fact: Condoms are the most effective method to prevent HIV when used properly and consistently, according to multiple reputable public health organisations around the world, including the UNFPA, WHO, UNAIDS, CDC, NHS, […]
Claim: American actor Morgan Freeman has converted to Islam. He has also said that Qatar’s culture made him “love Islam more”, that he “will spread what happened” to him among his close ones, and that “God gave [him] a vision of the right path”. Fact: Freeman has not converted to Islam. A representative for the […]
Claim: According to a viral WhatsApp message, a file titled “Mexico did it”, with an image showing “how Covid-19 is cured in Mexico” will install a virus on users’ phones in five seconds. Fact: We found the warning to be bogus; no such file exists. On 8 November 2022, Soch Fact Check received a WhatsApp […]
Claim: A video shows a massive traffic jam amid Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief and former prime minister Imran Khan’s Haqeeqi Azadi March towards Rawalpindi. Fact: The video, which was actually taken over five years ago on 22 November 2017, shows the Interstate 405 in California blocked as Americans travelled ahead of Thanksgiving. On 26 November […]
Claim: According to a viral WhatsApp message, people in Lahore’s Defence Housing Authority (DHA) have been handing out visiting cards laced with a debilitating drug called burundanga to unsuspecting motorists stopped at petrol stations in order to rob, kidnap or sexually assault them. Fact: No crime involving the use of burundanga-laced visiting cards has been […]
Claim: Four people have converted to Islam after a lecture by Indian Islamic televangelist Dr Zakir Naik during FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar. Fact: The incident took place in 2016, not during the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. On 22 November 2022, Soch Fact Check received an image of Muslim televangelist Dr Zakir […]
Claim: A UK court has announced its verdict against Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in a defamation case about a story published by the British tabloid, Daily Mail, about alleged corruption by Sharif. Fact: The High Court has not ruled against Pakistan’s incumbent prime minister. Justice Sir Matthew Nicklin of the High Court King’s Bench […]
Claim: Social media users speculate about the number of bullets that hit Imran Khan during the 3 November attack during his rally near Wazirabad. While some claim three or four bullets hit Khan, others allege that he faked his injuries and was not injured by any bullet. Fact: Imran Khan did not fake his injuries. […]
Claim: Dr Faisal Sultan performed surgery on Imran Khan after the latter suffered a gunshot wound. Fact: Dr Sultan is an infectious diseases expert and did not operate on Khan; a team of doctors comprising orthopaedic, vascular, and general surgeons did. On 5 November 2022, Twitter user @mishikhan_pti shared a video reportedly showing infectious diseases […]