Claim: A court in Pakistan’s Punjab province used artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot ChatGPT-4 to make a decision in a legal case involving a dispute between two parties over a contract. Fact: The decision of the bail petition was not made by or with the help of ChatGPT, but Judge Amir Munir only consulted the artificial […]
Claim: A picture claims to show that a woman, wearing the PTI’s colours and holding the party’s flag, is Sahar Ata Bandial, the daughter of Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Umar Ata Bandial. Fact: The picture is of Tayyaba Raja, a PTI supporter and social media influencer. It does not show Sahar Bandial. On 2 […]
Claim: More animals will be brought to the Karachi Zoo, according to the Sindh government’s spokesperson Murtaza Wahab. Fact: The report being shared is not recent but from November 2022. Moreover, KMC Media Department Director Ali Hassan Sajid confirmed to Soch Fact Check that there is “no such plan formed nor a recommendation” in this […]
Claim: Ansar Abbasi said the hike in petrol prices is a great decision and the public will now perform religious prayers instead of roaming in markets. Fact: The claim originated from a satirical tweet, which was eventually disseminated as real news. On 16 April 2023, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) member Shehbaz Gill retweeted a statement attributed […]
Claim: A video shows a mob of people brutally beating three men from the Shiite Muslim sect and claiming that a war has been declared against the Shiite community in Charsadda. Fact: The video, in fact, depicts people beating up three men who were allegedly part of a group that robbed a jewellery shop in […]
Claim: Two videos show Airport Security Force (ASF) officials misbehaving and manhandling passengers at Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport. Fact: The viral video is actually two separate clips clubbed together; the first, depicting women being manhandled, is from a 2017 incident in Rawalpindi, not Karachi, whereas the second is from 2018. On 15 January 2023, Facebook […]
Claim: A video shows supporters of Imran Khan protesting against the Pakistan Army. Fact: The clip is unrelated to Pakistan. It actually shows a pro-democracy protest held in Mexico City, Mexico, in February 2023. On 1 March 2023, Facebook user ‘सनातनी हिंदू’ posted a video (archive) claiming it showed supporters of former prime minister and […]
Claim: A picture shows Imran Khan “escaping” arrest at his Zaman Park residence in Lahore by climbing out through a ladder. Fact: The picture is unrelated to Khan and, in fact, shows Hamza Shahbaz Sharif in 2019. On 5 March 2023, Jawad Ahmad — singer-turned politician and chief of the Barabri Party Pakistan (BPP) — […]
Claim: A visual shows pictures of three different PTI workers allegedly injured during clashes with the police in Lahore on 8 March 2023. Fact: The picture in the centre is from 2014 and is unrelated to the PTI, while the other two photos are, in fact, of the same individual but from different times and […]
Claim: A video shows the private jail of Sardar Abdul Rehman Khetran, where the Barkhan murder victims were kept. Fact: The clip has no relation to Sardar Khetran, Balochistan or the Barkhan tragedy. It was first uploaded to TikTok on 14 February 2023 by @urbexkev, who confirmed to Soch Fact Check that it shows tunnels […]
Claim: A video shows Sahar Bandial, the daughter of Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, dancing with a group of young women. Fact: The video does not show Sahar Bandial, who confirmed to Soch Fact Check that she is not any of the women in the viral clip. On 1 April 2023, Facebook page ‘چوہدری زمان […]
Claim: Peshawar’s Islamia College University lecturer Dr Bashir Ahmad was killed over a blasphemy allegation. Fact: The claim is false, as confirmed by Islamia College University’s provost and a journalist from Peshawar. On 19 February 2023, Twitter account @DayWithNews posted a tweet (archive) claiming that Dr Bashir Ahmad, a lecturer at the Department of English […]