Claim: A viral image appearing to be a news update claimed PTI leader Shahbaz Gill said, “I do not wish to maintain political ties with Imran Khan” Fact: Shahbaz Gill did not make such an announcement. He remains a senior PTI leader and close ally of Imran Khan. The image is doctored. On 17 September […]
Claim: An image shows the wreckage of a Pakistan Army helicopter that crashed near Khost in the Harnai district of Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province. Fact: The photo has no relation to the 26 September crash but is from a separate incident in 2021. On 26 September 2022, the Facebook page ‘Quetta Time’ posted an image […]
Claim: A law to legalise same-sex marriage is set to be passed in Pakistan under the guise of a transgender act as part of efforts by non-governmental organisations (NGOs), which obtain funds from gay and lesbian communities abroad. The claim further adds that “educated khawajasira” do not support the proposed law and that they acknowledge […]
Claim: A screenshot of Afghan cricket player Farid Malik apologising after for a recent on-field feud with Pakistan’s Asif Ali was widely shared on social media Fact: The Twitter account purportedly representing Farid Malik is fake, and neither player has issued an apology for the verbal spat, which turned violent. Pakistan’s cricket team faced off […]
Claim: Russia’s President Vladimir Putin refused to meet Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit 2022. Fact: There is no truth to the claims as Vladimir Putin and Shehbaz Sharif met on the sidelines of the SCO Summit 2022 on 15 September 2022. Photos and videos from the two leaders’ […]
Claims: A viral social media post claims that a man killed and beheaded his daughter in Karachi. Fact: The incident took place in Meerut, India not Pakistan. Further, images of a man and a young girl being shared with the claim are unrelated to this case. On 26 August 2022, a Facebook post went viral […]
Claim: Imran Khan pleads for Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Jawed Bajwa’s tenure extension in his interview with journalist Kamran Khan on Dunya News. Fact: Imran Khan did not plead for General Bajwa’s tenure extension. On 12 September 2022, Former Prime Minister Imran Khan appeared in ‘Dunya Kamran Khan Kay Saath’, a talk […]
Claim: A photo apparently shows Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites visible in the sky from Pakistan. Fact: The image is, in fact, two years old and has no link to Pakistan. It was taken as a screenshot from a video posted by a Kosovo-based software developer. On 8 September 2022, Facebook user Umar Farooq posted in […]
Claim: A graph shared in a viral tweet shows the rate of inflation in Pakistan along with the level of media outcry about inflation under the PTI government vs the PDM government. It claims that the media disproportionately created an outcry about inflation under the PTI government, as compared to the growing inflation under PDM […]
Claim: A screenshot shows a tweet by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in which he says, “I am surprised that on the visit to Pakistan, the Prime Minister of Pakistan wanted me to have a media talk of his choice. I saw there that the Pakistani authorities do not care about the people.” Fact: Antonio […]
Claim: A picture of a minor girl is shared with a caption that implies she is an affectee of the recent devastating floods in Pakistan. Fact: The child is a Rohingya refugee, who was photographed by Paula Bronstein on 29 October 2017. On 25 August 2022, Pakistani actress and model Neelam Muneer Khan posted on […]
Claim: According to British journalist Julia Hartley-Brewer, extreme weather events are not increasing worldwide Fact: Extreme weather events are increasing across the globe, especially in North America, Europe and Asia, according to the Summary for Policymakers report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). On 2 September 2022, Talk TV, a recently launched British […]