Claim: A video shared on social media shows a Pakistan International Airlines’ plane moving through a flooded runway at Jinnah International Airport in Karachi amid heavy monsoon rain. Fact: The video in question is from 27 August 2020. The Civil Aviation Authority also confirmed the video is old and that there were no drainage issues […]
Claim: An image shared on social media on 14 July 2022 shows a huge crowd at a rally held by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in Multan, Punjab, where party chief and former Prime Minister Imran Khan addressed his supporters. A poster with an image of Khan, former Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, and Shah Mehmood […]
Claim: Hindus in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province are forced to wear topis — caps typically worn by Muslim men during prayers — when they enter the Guru Gorakhnath temple near Peshawar, the only remaining Shiva temple in the country. Fact: There is no truth to the claim. The Hindu community is free to worship […]
Claim: Former Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan wrote a tweet asking former Prime Minister Imran Khan to call for public protests if it appears that local elections are being rigged to stop people voting for the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). Fact: The account responsible for the tweet appears to be impersonating Nisar. No such tweet […]
Claim: According to video clips circulating online, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has passed away from a heart attack. Fact: Nawaz Sharif has not passed away. Fact or Fiction? On 12 July 2022, a video clip of Nawaz Sharif and Mayam Nawaz was shared with the following caption: “بہت ہی افسوسناک خبر میاں محمد نواز […]
Claim: Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif has announced his resignation and will be dissolving the country’s assemblies. Fact: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has made no such announcement. On 18 and 19 January 2022, several pages shared videos on Facebook with different variations of the caption, “شہباز شریف نے نئے الیکشن کی تاریخ دیدی اور […]
Claim: A Spanish newspaper recently published pictures of “thieves from around the world”, including former Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif. Fact: Nawaz Sharif’s picture appeared in a 2016 article by Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia about the Panama Papers. Sharif’s name and photo did not feature in a recent article by the publication about international […]
Claim: A video circulating on social media shows sheep and cattle lying dead in muddy water following heavy rain and flooding in Quetta, Balochistan in July 2022. Fact: The video is, in fact, from 2020 and shows the aftermath of deadly floods in northern Saudi Arabia. On 5 July 2022, a video was shared on […]
Claim: A video shows people raising the national flag of Afghanistan on a pedestrian bridge in Karachi’s Sohrab Goth neighbourhood during recent ethnic riots that flared up following the murder of Sindhi youth Bilal Kaka during a quarrel at a hotel. Fact: The video is in fact from August 2021 and shows people in Afghanistan’s […]
Claim: A cartoon circulating on WhatsApp and social media that appears to depict the Pakistani military’s extensive involvement in the country’s political affairs was allegedly published in The New York Times. Fact: The cartoon was created by Indian artist Mujaid Alam and first surfaced online in 2020. It was never published in The New York […]
Claim: An image circulating on Facebook allegedly depicts limestone rocks located near Astola Island, a small island in Balochistan, Pakistan. Fact: The claim is false. The image is from Cabo San Lucas, a resort city at the southern tip of Mexico, where limestone rocks known as “El Arco” have formed over time as a result […]
Claim: Pakistan is a top destination for countries to dump their waste, with most countries opting to dispose of their waste in Pakistan. Fact: According to publicly available information, Pakistan’s relative share in the import of global waste is small. The misinformation appears connected to reports that 40 No Objection Certificates (“NOCs”) were issued to […]