Claim: PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif was severely upset at the recent Supreme Court decision and announced a political split from PPP leader Asif Ali Zardari. Fact: Several viral Facebook posts doctored videos of Nawaz Sharif’s address at the Asma Jahangir Conference 2021, his speech at a political rally in Lahore from 13 December 2020 and […]
Claim: Journalist Imran Riaz Khan is collecting donations online to help disabled people in Pakistan. Fact: Imran Riaz Khan’s Twitter account was hacked and a PayPal scam was shared through a tweet. The journalist uploaded a video warning people not to interact with his account or make any donations. On 30 July 2022, journalist Imran […]
Claim: A video shared on social media shows pilgrims criticising the current Pakistan government for providing “terrible” lodging facilities during Hajj 2022 in Saudi Arabia. Fact: The video is, in fact, from August 2019 and shows pilgrims criticising the government at the time for providing inadequate lodging facilities. On 1 July 2022, Facebook user Raja […]
Claim: A viral video shows people celebrating in Sialkot after the Pakistan Supreme Court announced on 26 July 2022 that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidate Pervez Elahi would be the new Chief Minister of Punjab. Fact: The video surfaced on social media in January 2022 and depicts new year celebrations in Sialkot. The video is not […]
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: 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 viral photo shows Turkey’s Army Chief General taking orders from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Social media users in Pakistan are sharing the image with captions highlighting civilian supremacy over the military in Turkey and implicitly drawing a comparison with the political climate in Pakistan. Fact: The photo, in fact, shows Turkish Land […]
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: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) won the recent by-election in Swat by defeating a “13-party coalition of PDM [Pakistan Democratic Movement] single handedly”. Fact: There were four candidates in the Swat by-election, including one each from the PTI, the Awami National Party (ANP), and the Tehreek-e-Inqelab Political Movement (TiPM), as well as an independent. The […]