Claim: A video shared on social media claims that it shows a man at the funeral of his daughter, who was purportedly killed by Iranian morality police for not covering her hair. Fact: The claim is false. The video is not from Iran; it is actually a clip from an episode of an Azerbaijani television […]
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: 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: An Express News bulletin quoting a purported FBR notification claimed the federal government exempted all taxes on the import of bulletproof vehicles for high-ranking military generals. Fact: According to the FBR, no such notification has been formally issued yet, although the tax exemption is indeed under the Prime Minister’s consideration. Since the policy hasn’t […]
Claim: BISP accounts designated for receiving flood relief donations have been hacked. Fact: BISP officially clarified that none of their accounts were hacked. No reports claiming recipients have suffered such fraud have surfaced. On 19 September 2022, former deputy speaker of the National Assembly and member of Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI) Qasim Khan Suri […]
Claim: Bashar Noorzai was released in a prisoner exchange from Guantanamo Bay. Fact: Bashar Noorzai was charged with drug trafficking in New York, after which he remained in federal custody in the United States. Fact or Fiction? Believed to be a close aide to Taliban founder Mullah Muhammad Omar and a key financer of the […]
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: 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 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: 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 […]
Claim: Multiple social media reports claim that Junaid Safdar, the grandson of Pakistan’s former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, was arrested in London over either a fake degree or involvement in a stolen Bentley Mulsanne case. Fact: The video is over four years old and shows Junaid Safdar being detained following a physical altercation in London […]
Claim: Journalist Waqas Ahmed has started working at the International Human Rights Foundation (IHRF). Fact: Both Waqas Ahmed and the IHRF deny the claim. On 25 August 2022, a Twitter account called Standup Pakistan shared a tweet claiming that 29-year-old journalist Waqas Ahmed is the first Pakistani to work for the IHRF. This tweet gained […]