Claim: A video shows people raising the national flag of Afghanistan on a pedestrian bridge in Karachi’s Sohrab Goth neighbourhood during recent ethnic riots that flared up following the murder of Sindhi youth Bilal Kaka during a quarrel at a hotel. Fact: The video is in fact from August 2021 and shows people in Afghanistan’s […]
Claim: A cartoon circulating on WhatsApp and social media that appears to depict the Pakistani military’s extensive involvement in the country’s political affairs was allegedly published in The New York Times. Fact: The cartoon was created by Indian artist Mujaid Alam and first surfaced online in 2020. It was never published in The New York […]
Claim: A Muslim mother married her son in anger after a father married his daughter. Fact: The photos actually show the two (unrelated) parents standing with their respective children who either completed their first recitation of the Quran or finished memorising the Quran. On 3 July 2022, Facebook page ‘We Support Nupur Sharma’ posted the […]
Claim: A video shows dark grey clouds looming over the shores of Karachi, Pakistan as the city expects severe thunderstorms. Fact: The video is, in fact, from 2021 when Hurricane Olaf struck the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. On 14 July 2022, Soch Fact Check received a WhatsApp forwarded chain message containing a video of […]
Claim: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) won the recent by-election in Swat by defeating a “13-party coalition of PDM [Pakistan Democratic Movement] single handedly”. Fact: There were four candidates in the Swat by-election, including one each from the PTI, the Awami National Party (ANP), and the Tehreek-e-Inqelab Political Movement (TiPM), as well as an independent. The […]
Claim: Russian Consul General Andrey Fedorov has said his country “will provide oil on cheap rates if [the] Pakistan government contacted us” and confirmed former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s claim that his government was in talks with Russia to buy oil at a “30% discounted rate”. Fact: Fedorov made no such comment. At a press conference, the […]
Claim: A video shared on Facebook shows former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Lt Gen Ahmad Shuja Pasha making “shocking revelations” about the country’s nuclear assets being “at risk”. Fact: The video does not show Lt Gen Shuja Pasha. It appears to have been taken from the now-deleted YouTube channel of Pakistan Army veteran Captain (R) […]
Claim: According to a viral WhatsApp message an Indian film called “Allaah Banday” will feature an actor portraying the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Fact: No such movie is in the works nor has India produced such a movie in the past. On 20 June 2022, Soch Fact Check received a forwarded chain message on WhatsApp containing […]
Claim: The Government of Pakistan under Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will soon allow the United States to use its airspace to carry out military operations in Afghanistan, according to a CNN report. Fact: The CNN article cited in viral claims is actually from October 2021. At that time, Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded to […]
Claim: A picture shows Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader and Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shahbaz Sharif wearing a yellow kurta under a medium dark yellow, chequered blazer. Fact: The picture has been doctored. A yellow paint overlay appears to have been applied to Hamza Shahbaz’s blazer using a photo-editing application. The original photo shows Shahbaz […]
Claim: A video shows a large group of people in Pakistan protesting in response to recent controversial remarks by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) former spokesperson Nupur Sharma and party leader Naveen Kumar Jindal that were seen as insulting the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Fact: The video is from 2021 and is not connected to any anti-India […]
Claim: American actress and singer Zendaya is pregnant with partner Tom Holland’s baby. Fact: Zendaya is not pregnant. The actress addressed the rumours — which can be traced back to a TikTok video by user @ryan.roberts — on her Instagram story. On 15 June 2022, thousands of tweets flooded Twitter users’ timelines as reports of […]