Claim: A picture shows Maulana Fazlur Rehman posing for a selfie with a young woman. Fact: The picture actually shows a bearded man in a turban and shawl — whom Soch Fact Check identified as Asjad Mahmood, the son of Fazlur Rehman — taking a selfie with his father. On 3 June 2023, Facebook user […]
Claim: A cargo ship carrying Russian oil has refused to unload its consignment until Imran Khan “personally comes to receive it”. Fact: The report is satire. On 2 April 2023, Twitter user @drfatima_pti posted a visual (archive) showing former prime minister and chief of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Imran Khan, against a backdrop of cargo […]
Claim: A video shows Rana Sanaullah engaging in sexual activities with another man. Fact: The video, which can be traced as far back as at least 2019, does not show Rana Sanaullah and has been wrongly linked to the Pakistani interior minister. On 1 June 2023, Facebook user ‘Hammad Abbasi’ posted a video (archive) that […]
Claim: Geo News reported in one of their news bulletins that hospital sources have confirmed Khadijah Shah was sexually assaulted in prison. Fact: The visual is manipulated and the editor of Geo News’ Urdu website has confirmed that it is a doctored image. On 28 May 2023, Facebook user ‘Imtiaz Hussain Pti’ posted two pictures […]
Claim: A video shows Maulana Fazlur Rehman stepping off a state jet he used to travel to Thailand for a “private” trip. Fact: The video is actually from 2022 and shows Fazlur Rehman arriving in Karachi for another religious cleric’s funeral. On 2 April 2023, Umar Jutt, a special correspondent at Dunya News, tweeted a […]
Claim: A video claims to show Khawaja Asif facing the first public backlash as a man throws ink on his face during a speech after “calling teachers dacoits”. Fact: The video does not show the public’s reaction to Khawaja Asif “calling teachers dacoits”. The clip is, in fact, from 2018 and is not related to […]
Claim: A video shows the oil fleet of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MPA from Sindh being set on fire and destroyed because he refused to quit the party. Fact: The video is from 1 May 2022, when a massive blaze engulfed the Tarojaba oil depot in Nowshera district, Peshawar. Fact or Fiction? The former prime minister […]
Claim: A video of waves of water crashing onto a bridge apparently shows Cyclone Biparjoy damaging in Gujrat, India. Fact: The video is actually from 2017, not from 2023 when Cyclone Biparjoy is nearing India and Pakistan. Cyclone Biparjoy has been churning across the northeastern Arabian Sea, heading toward southern Pakistan and western India since […]
Claim: A video shows the “menacing skies & turbulent seas” of Cyclone Biparjoy near Sea View, Karachi. Fact: The video does not show Karachi’s Sea View, nor is it from any coastal areas of Pakistan. It is, in fact, Category 2 Pacific Hurricane Olaf, which made landfall in Baja California Peninsula in Mexico in September […]
Claim: A video shows a powerful explosion that rocked “an operating nuclear power plant in Karachi”, Pakistan. Fact: The video does not show an explosion at a nuclear power plant but a blast at an electrical grid station in DHA, Karachi. On 12 June 2023, Twitter user @steve_hanke posted a video (archive) showing smoke rising […]
Claim: Instagram user @feella.artx has claimed that a March 2023 report is proof the UN has called for the decriminalisation of sexual relations between adults and minors. Fact: The claim is false. A report prepared by the ICJ, UNAIDS, and the OHCHR provides a guideline on the application of criminal laws. It includes suggestions on […]
Claim: The Khorasan Diary reported that the US Forces employed long-range drones to carry out a drone strike in Ismailkhil Mandozai district of Khost province in southeastern Afghanistan. According to these screenshots, the US sought the help of locals to find their targets in Afghanistan. Fact: Founders of The Khorasan Diary, Iftikhar Firdous and Ihsanullah […]