Claim: A social media user shared a video of a helicopter burning with a caption that claims “the General of the Quetta Corps was killed in a helicopter crash along with five of his senior officers.” Fact: The post is misleading as the video is from 2020 in Syria, not from the recent helicopter crash […]
Claim: Social media users, especially those aligned with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), allege that former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s aide, Shahbaz Gill, and his driver were beaten by police while being arrested in Islamabad on 9 August 2020. Fact: CCTV footage of the arrest shows Shahbaz Gill was shifted to another vehicle peacefully and not tortured; […]
Claim: A video shows four SUVs were swept away in a flash flood in Pakistan. Fact: The video is, in fact, from September 2020 when flash floods hit Sharjah and the vehicles were swept away in the Wadi Shees. Earlier this month, Facebook user ‘Muhammad Babbar Khan’ posted a reel — the social media platform’s […]
Claim: A clip on Facebook, with a thumbnail that includes images of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and Pakistan Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, shows how intelligence agencies spy on citizens. Fact: The thumbnail of the Facebook video is misleading; the clip is, in fact, from the 2015 film ‘Eye in the Sky’ […]
Claim: Caryn E Gifford, a level 2 policy advisor to American diplomat David Blome, posted a tweet confirming that a US tactical drone accidentally hit a Pakistan Army helicopter in Balochistan’s Lasbela, resulting in multiple fatalities. Fact: The US embassy has not issued any statement regarding the recent Pakistan Army helicopter accident in Lasbela, Balochistan. […]
Claim: A photo shows the wreckage of a Pakistan Army helicopter that was carrying six passengers, including 12 Corps Commander Lieutenant General Sarfraz Ali, to Balochistan’s Lasbela for flood relief operations and crashed on 1 August. Fact: The image is not related to the 1 August crash but is, in fact, from another incident from […]
Claim: Social media posts claim that the rate of the US Dollar against the Pakistani Rupee (USD-PKR) suddenly dove to PKR 207 on 28 July 2022, after hovering around PKR 240. Fact: The claim is false. A glitch in the Google Currency Converter temporarily showed the rate as one USD to PKR 207.10, but the […]
Claim: Imtiaz Supermarket in Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Karachi may collapse at any moment due to deterioration caused by the recent heavy monsoon rainfall. Water started entering the basement causing cracks to appear. Fact: Imtiaz Supermarket is not likely to collapse due to damage caused by monsoon rainfall. The management of Imtiaz Supermarket has denied the claims, terming them […]
Claim: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial during a hearing pertaining to the election of Punjab’s chief minister was reported as saying, “It is rainy season [but] no one brought pakoras for us,” according to a Geo News bulletin. Fact: Justice Bandial made no such comment; a Geo News bulletin was doctored to […]
Claim: Startup Pakistan shared a post claiming that the Pakistani government is selling a 100% stake in several state-owned companies, namely Pakistan International Airlines, Pakistan State Oil, Sui Southern Gas Company, Sui Northern Gas Pipelines, Oil & Gas Development Company, and Pakistan Petroleum. An article linked in the post further states that the government repealed […]
Claim: An image shared on Twitter depicts three individuals who died in the July 2022 flash floods in Balochistan. Fact: The image is old and was first reported in 2019 when Balochistan was hit by monsoon floods. On 29 July 2022, Twitter user and writer Khadim Hussain shared an image with a caption; “The heart-wrenching […]
Claim: A video shows passengers in a moving car that was inundated with water during the recent bout of heavy rainfall in Karachi. Fact: The video is, in fact, not recent; it surfaced back in 2020 when a similar monsoon season lashed Karachi. On 7 July 2022, Facebook page ‘Bilawal Zardari’ shared a video claiming […]