Claim: Russian President Vladimir Putin told the media that he would “visit Pakistan to sign a major oil pipeline deal”. Fact: Vladimir Putin did not tell the media he will visit Pakistan to sign an oil pipeline deal. Fact vs Fiction On 27 February, a video of Vladimir Putin speaking to the press in Russian […]
Claim: A video being shared on WhatsApp allegedly depicts the Mongolian Minister of Public Works setting himself on fire after he failed to deliver on a promise of building 100,000 low-cost homes. Fact: The video does not depict the Mongolian public works minister setting himself on fire. It is, in fact, of Mongolian trade union […]
Claim: An 8-year Ukrainian girl confronts a Russian soldier telling him to go back to his country. Fact: The girl in the videos and photos is not Ukrainian, she is Palestinian citizen Ahed Tamimi who confronted an Israeli soldier in 2012 after her brother was arrested. Fact or Fiction On 27 February 2022, in light […]
Claim: A photo shows former Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) senator Sehar Kamran alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin. Fact: Kamran is not currently in Russia. While Kamran did take a selfie with Putin in 2018, a doctored photo of the two is currently going viral. On 23 February 2022, Twitter user @Zakr1a shared a photo of […]
Claim: A video shows an ‘artificial sun’ created recently by China after successful experimentation going up in the sky during a launch event. Fact: The video is actually of a rocket launch event. The ‘artificial sun’, which was created in a superconducting tokamak magnetic nuclear fusion energy reactor, cannot be launched into the sky. On […]
Claim: A video circulating on social media allegedly depicts the world’s first plastic woman, created by China. Fact: The clip is from a short promotional film for the adventure video game; Detroit: Become Human. It features the character of Chloe, who is an android personal assistant in the game. Fact or Fiction? On 8 […]
Claim: A video shows Indian Hindu men harassing young burqa-clad female students by throwing water on them as they make their way to class. Fact: The video is from a university in Sri Lanka where senior students can be seen ‘ragging’ first-year students. On 10 February 2022, Pakistani columnist Orya Maqbool Jan shared a video […]
Claim: A Facebook page shared a post about plans to restore and renovate historic buildings in Sheikh Badin National Park, along with an image apparently depicting one such building. Fact: The image is in fact of the Great Mosque of Djenne, also known as Timbuktu Djinguereber Mosque, which is located in Mali and not in […]
Claim: A scenic motorway-bridge high in the mountains was built under the leadership of PML-N supremo and former prime minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif. Fact: The motorway-bridge is located in Austria, not Pakistan, and has no connection to Sharif. On 1 January 2022, Facebook user ‘Hayat Yusofzai’ posted an image showing a motorway passing through […]
Claim: A video doing the rounds on social media depicts the Taliban destroying mobile phones in Afghanistan. Fact: The video is not of the Taliban destroying mobile phones in Afghanistan but of Pakistan Customs’ officers destroying smuggled and contraband goods at a destruction ceremony in Karachi. Fact or Fiction: On 13 January 2022, Facebook page […]
Claim: Pakistani outlets wrongly claim that lice are being sold by salons in Dubai. Fact: It was, in fact, reported by UAE-based publications in 2016 that women visited salons in Dubai to purchase lice for 14 DHS (PKR 600), believing that the lice would help treat hair loss. However, no such practice has been reported […]
Claim: A truck driver who was stopped on Karachi’s University Road for allegedly offending the religious sentiments of Muslims said his vehicle is owned by PepsiCo India. Fact: The truck in question does not belong to PepsiCo India, nor did the driver say his truck is owned by PepsiCo India. The word ‘India’ was not […]