Claim: A report by The Associated Press claims an amendment to the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2018, proposed by the Government of Pakistan, will allow transgender individuals to choose their gender identity on previously-issued official documents and that hardline clerics are opposing the suggested changes. Fact: Five different amendments were put forward by senators […]
Claim: Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari is tying the knot with Mahenoor Soomro, granddaughter of Pakistan Peoples Party’s founding member late Ruqiya Khanum Soomro. Fact: Mahenoor has denied the rumours, urging people to avoid spreading fake news regarding her marriage. Fact or Fiction? On 20 October 2022, the Facebook page Jaanlo claimed that PPP chairman Bilawal […]
Claim: Manufactured potato crisps, which have dark-coloured spots and appear burnt, contain throat mold, which can be harmful. Fact: There is no type of mold called “throat mold”. The darkened parts of potato crisps are caused by over frying. On 19 September 2022, a social media influencer with 74,900 followers on Instagram shared an image […]
Claim: Former England captain and renowned commentator Nasser Hussain said that the umpires made some decisions in favour of India during the recent T20 World Cup 2022 match against Pakistan. Fact: The statement was wrongly attributed to the commentator in posts shared online. Hussain clarified that the quote was fake and urged a social media […]
Claim: An image of a car’s bloodied interior shows the aftermath of Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif’s alleged assassination. Fact: The picture is, in fact, of the inside of the car in which Maulana Muhammad Adil Khan, a religious scholar and Jamia Farooqia Karachi’s rector, was assassinated in October 2020. It has no relation whatsoever to […]
Claim: A data table shows that 28,723 people changed the gender they were assigned at birth through the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) from July 2018 to June 2021. Fact: The NADRA has categorically termed the portrayal of the data as “misinterpretation”, saying that it is “not related to gender reassignment”. A spokesperson, Faik […]
Claim: ‘Behind Closed Doors’, a documentary made by filmmakers Michael Oswald and Murtaza Mehdi about Pakistan’s Sharif family, is set to be released on streaming services Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. Fact: The director of ‘Behind Closed Doors’, Michael Oswald, confirmed to Soch Fact Check that no deal has been signed with either Netflix or […]
Claim: Pakistan People’s Party has decided to suspend the membership of politician Aitzaz Ahsan over controversial remarks. Fact: Although there are demands within the party to suspend Aitzaz Ahsan, the Central Executive Committee of the party has made no such decision. On 14 October 2022, mainstream news websites and social media posts reported that Pakistan […]
Claim: Pakistani mixed spices company Shan Foods Limited has launched a recipe masala packet called ‘Punjabi Biryani’ and claimed it is “World Famous in Punjab.” Fact: Shan Foods Limited has been manufacturing ‘Punjabi Biryani’ recipe masala packets for a few years now. A senior official at the company says the product is not recent; the […]
Claim: PML-N MNA Ahsan Iqbal said that American president Joe Biden’s recent remarks questioning the safety of Pakistan’s nuclear program are because, like a father, he wants what is best for Pakistan. Fact: Ahsan Iqbal did not make this comment, a Geo News Urdu parody account on Twitter did. On 15 October 2022, a journalist […]
Claim: A child in the Pashtoon Abad neighbourhood of Quetta, the capital of Pakistan’s Balochistan province, died due to the oral polio vaccine (OPV) administered to her in September 2022. Fact: The doctor who treated the child confirmed that she died due to severe pneumonia, a condition in which food or liquid enters the airways […]
Claim: A video shows a Baloch ‘revolutionary’ firing from behind a wall as a fire burns nearby during a clash with Pakistan Army soldiers in the Balochistan province following the crash of a military helicopter in Harnai, near Khost, in September 2022. Fact: The clip is, in fact, from Baluchistan, Iran, where a newly-formed armed […]