Claim: A video shows the “menacing skies & turbulent seas” of Cyclone Biparjoy near Sea View, Karachi. Fact: The video does not show Karachi’s Sea View, nor is it from any coastal areas of Pakistan. It is, in fact, Category 2 Pacific Hurricane Olaf, which made landfall in Baja California Peninsula in Mexico in September […]
Claim: A video shows a powerful explosion that rocked “an operating nuclear power plant in Karachi”, Pakistan. Fact: The video does not show an explosion at a nuclear power plant but a blast at an electrical grid station in DHA, Karachi. On 12 June 2023, Twitter user @steve_hanke posted a video (archive) showing smoke rising […]
Claim: An image shows a woman standing in front of riot police in Lahore during protests against the arrest of Imran Khan. Fact: The image is not real but generated through artificial intelligence (AI) software Midjourney. Its creator says a real-life incident was the inspiration behind his creation. On 11 May 2023, Twitter user @whirlingdervsh […]
Claim: A study found lab-grown meat from a Bill Gates-backed company causes cancer. Fact: The claim is false and based on a misinterpretation of a study that did not test any lab-grown meat products funded by Gates. The study tested a plant-based meat product backed by Gates but found no link to cancer. On March […]
Claim: Video clips uploaded on Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok show raining worms in China. Fact: The videos actually show catkins and not worms. Catkins are a cylindrical flower from poplar trees which appears to be wriggling in the rain, giving the appearance of worms. From 11 March 2023, Twitter, Facebook and TikTok were flooded with […]
Claim: A group of photos taken in March 2023 show a “mysterious red glow” over the Atlantic shortly after a powerful earthquake hit Pakistan, Afghanistan, and India. Fact: The images are not from 2023 but from July 2022. They were taken by American pilot Dustin Maggard on 16 July 2022 during a flight 31,000 feet […]
Claim: Dutch researcher Frank Hoogerbeets tweeted a list of “safety rules [for] when an earthquake occurs”, including asking God for help. Fact: Hoogerbeets did not tweet such a list. On 8 February 2023, Twitter account @Frank_Hoogerbee (archive) posted a tweet stating “safety rules [for] when an earthquake occurs”. According to @Frank_Hoogerbee, these rules are as […]
Claim: A group of Indian doctors have invented a piece of advanced equipment to remove coronary artery blockages called Megavac, a mechanical thrombectomy system which removes blockages, mitigating the need for open-heart surgery. Fact: Megavac was created by Dr Richard Fulton, who has also made the SonoGlo and the MammoMark. He clarified that he developed […]
Claim: WHO guidelines on brain stroke claim 7 “biggest brain damaging habits” Fact: The claim is false, as the WHO had not declared such a list. On 29 January 2023 and again on 9 February 2023, Soch Fact Check received a viral image on WhatsApp which claimed the World Health Organization (WHO) identified seven habits […]
Claim: Lahore has made it compulsory for all new buildings to include charging stations for electric vehicles. Fact: Lahore has only made it compulsory for new commercial and industrial buildings to include charging stations for electric vehicles to attain an environmental NOC. On 29 December 2022, ProPakistani uploaded an image on Facebook claiming that authorities […]
Claim: A viral video shows that the moon appears to be extremely close to the Earth, as it orbits around the Arctic Ocean covering the sun completely for 5 seconds while the entire orbit lasts 30 seconds in the observable sky. Fact: This video is a CGI animation and is nowhere close to reality. On […]
Claim: Pictures in various posts claim to show recent snowfall in Islamabad. Fact: There has not been any snowfall in Islamabad in December 2022 or January 2023. On 1 January 2023, images surfaced on social media claiming that Islamabad received snowfall for the first time in history. Soch Fact Check also received the clip on […]