Claim: A video has surfaced online with captions that claim it shows China’s president visiting a mosque to request Muslims to pray that the new coronavirus outbreak subsides. Fact: The clip is actually from a 2016 video when the president visited Xincheng Mosque in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in northwest China for a fact-finding […]
Claim: FBR Chairman Shabbar Zaidi has resigned.Fact: Shabbar Zaidi has not resigned, but he may have to step down due to poor health. On Tuesday 11 February, social media posts and news reports spread claiming that Shabbar Zaidi has resigned from his position as Chairman of the Federal Bureau of Revenues (FBR). The words […]
Claim: 2019 Novel Coronavirus can be cured by consuming a bowl of freshly boiled garlic water. Fact: There is no evidence to support this claim. Verdict: Mostly False The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared the outbreak of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus a global emergency. As of January 3, 2020, at least 304 people have […]
Claim: The Chinese government and Pakistan Embassy are fulfilling the needs of Pakistani students quarantined in China. Fact: Many students are not being taken care of and have not been provided meals. Moreover, the Pakistani embassy in Wuhan is not cooperating or answering their calls. Verdict: Mostly false The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared […]
What is coronavirus? A coronavirus is a common organism that causes an infection in the nose, sinus or upper throat. The novel coronavirus (nCoV) is a new coronavirus that has not been identified previously. 2019 Novel Coronavirus, or 2019-nCoV, is a new respiratory virus first identified in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. According to the Centers […]
#1: Fire tenders with the help of water tankers provided by the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board put out the fire by 2am. Fire brigade officials told news organisations that they were called to the scene at approximately 10pm and the fire was extinguished around 2:30am. The Soch Fact Check team visited Teen Hatti to […]
Claim: A video circulating on Twitter shows the US air strike that killed Iranian general, Qassem Soleimani. Fact: The clip in question is a distorted preview of the video game, AC-130 Gunship Simulator – Convoy Engagement. Verdict: False. Iran’s powerful general, Qassem Soleimani, was assassinated in an American air strike in Baghdad on January 3. […]
CLAIM: Deceased Pashtun poet and academic Arman Loni was an Afghan immigrant. FACT: Although Pashtuns can be referred to as ethnically ‘Afghan’, Arman Loni was born in Pakistan and is therefore not an immigrant. VERDICT: False The Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) was once again trending on Twitter on Sunday, January 12, after the Pashtun Long March […]
Claim: Twitter user Tarek Fatah tweeted a video and claimed it depicted a woman yelling at a polio worker and refusing to give her children polio drops. Fact: The video is actually a clip from the movie Load Wedding. On 15 January 2020, Canadian Pakistani journalist Tarek Fatah, shared a video showing a woman standing […]
Claim: News reports claim that the temperature is likely to drop to 3°C during the current cold wave in Karachi. Rumours circulating that the metropolis will witness its coldest day in the past 100 years. Fact: According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), temperatures are predicted to fall to 6°C, at the lowest, not 3°C. […]
Claim: A video alleging heavy rainfall in the first week of January 2020 was circulated on Facebook and Twitter. Fact: The video was not taken in the first week of January 2020, it was filmed on November 25, 2019. Verdict: False Since August 2019, there seems to have been a web of disinformation surrounding the […]
Claim: A video is being circulated on Twitter and Facebook, allegedly depicting two Muslim men beating an elderly Hindu woman and forcefully taking a young girl away.Fact: The video was actually taken in Kalu Khan Ki Dhani village in Rajasthan, India on 11 September 2017. Verdict: False A video showing two men beating an elderly […]