Claim: Geo News reported that Qayamat has been postponed.
Fact: Geo News actually broadcast a video report about an update to the Doomsday Clock, which symbolically indicates the time left until a mass extinction event is caused by manmade technologies. The Clock does not actually make predictions but emphasises the dangers that need to be dealt with to ensure humanity’s survival on Earth. It is rather a warning system and a way for scientists to highlight the problems of the world.
Towards the end of January 2025, several Pakistani social media users claimed that Geo News, a popular media outlet, reported that the time of the Qayamat, or the Islamic concept of the Day of Judgement, has been postponed.
The claim, which included a screenshot of a Facebook post by ‘Geo News Urdu’, was accompanied by the following caption:
“شدید احتجاج اور سخت ترین اعتراض ریکارڈ کرانا اپنا فرض سمجھتا ہوں جیو نیوز کے خلاف کہ جس نے نعوذباللہ قیامت کا (فرضی) ٹائم آگے بڑھانے کے حوالے سے قابل اعتراض خبر چلائ ہے اور کچھ دیر قبل ہی اسے اپنے فیس بک پیج پر بھی لگائ ہے۔ ایک منٹ کی خبر میں 6 مرتبہ یہ جملہ دہرایا گیا ہے۔ یہ کسی کے دئیے گئے شیطانی ایجنڈے پر خبر چلائ گئ ہے جسکا مقصد چیک کرنا ہے کہ سوسائٹی سے کیا ردعمل آتا ہے۔ رفتہ رفتہ اس ایجنڈے کو آگے بڑھایا جائے گا۔ میں اس پر سخت احتجاج ریکارڈ کراتا ہوں۔قیامت تو دور، تم موت کو بھی ایک لمحہ آگے نہیں بڑھا سکتے۔
[I consider it my duty to register my extreme protest and strongest objection against Geo News, which has — and I seek Allah’s protection — aired a questionable news item regarding the (supposed) time of the Qayamat and has also posted it on its Facebook page just a while ago. This sentence has been repeated six times in a one-minute news [report]. This news item has been aired on someone’s evil agenda, the purpose of which is to check what is the reaction of [the Pakistani] society. Gradually, this agenda will be advanced. I am recording my strong protest against this. One cannot even delay death by a moment, let alone the Qayamat.]”
The screenshot contains a typical breaking news card by Geo News, bearing the text, “قیامت کے فرضی دن کی گھڑی کو ایک سیکنڈ آگے بڑھا دیا گیا [The symbolic doomsday clock has been moved by one second]”.
Fact or Fiction?
Using relevant keywords, Soch Fact Check was able to trace the links to the posts on Geo News Urdu’s social media accounts, including here and here on Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), and TikTok. However, all of the posts were taken down shortly afterwards.
In one of the posts viewed by Soch Fact Check, the anchor can be heard saying, “The hypothetical Doomsday Clock has been moved forward by one second. This is a hypothetical clock, which indicates the day and time of Doomsday and, on a hypothetical basis, it has been moved forward by one second. The reason provided [for this change is that] no steps are being taken to protect humanity.”
Through this, as well as some of the words used in the viral posts’ captions, we were able to ascertain that the news report was about the Doomsday Clock.
Doomsday Clock is a metaphorical method that measures how close the world is to the risk of an event of mass extinction. It was first created in 1947 and is maintained by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.
According to the Bulletin’s website, the Doomsday Clock “warns the public about how close we are to destroying our world with dangerous technologies of our own making. It is a metaphor, a reminder of the perils we must address if we are to survive on the planet”.
The Bulletin’s Science and Security Board (SASB) — which comprises “globally recognised leaders with a specific focus on nuclear risk, climate change, and disruptive technologies” — considers factors such as the “nuclear arms race” and “catastrophic disruptions from climate change”, among others, in setting its hands.
The Doomsday Clock does not actually make predictions about the doomsday; rather, it is a warning system about the increasing dangers and a way for scientists to highlight the problems of the world. It has nothing to do with the Islamic belief in Qayamat or any other religious belief in the Day of Judgement.
In January 2025, the SASB moved the clock’s arm from 90 seconds to midnight, or a mass extinction event, to 89 seconds. According to its statement and the Bulletin’s press release, “humanity [has] edged ever closer to catastrophe” in 2024 and “national leaders and their societies have failed to do what is needed to change course”.
This change marks “the closest [the Clock] has ever been to catastrophe”, it said, terming it a “stark signal”. The decisive factors this time included “nuclear weapons, climate crisis, artificial intelligence, infectious diseases, and conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East”.
“Continuing on the current path is a form of madness. The United States, China, and Russia have the prime responsibility to pull the world back from the brink. The world depends on immediate action,” it added.
Before this, the Doomsday Clock’s arms were last moved in January 2023, from 100 seconds to 90 seconds to midnight, according to a timeline on its website. The longest ever has been 17 minutes to midnight, which was in 1991.
Earth’s sixth mass extinction event
Scientists have long argued that Earth is in the midst of or approaching a sixth mass extinction event. According to various definitions, a mass extinction event means that a high proportion of biodiversity — various species — die out over a short period of time, i.e., thousands or millions of years.
With growing population and technological advancements, “we’ve taken a larger toll on the rest of the natural world”, according to Understanding Evolution (UE), a project of the University of California Museum of Paleontology (UCMP).
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) says the last mass extinction event occurred “65.5 million years ago which wiped out the dinosaurs from existence” and that the current one is “driven by human activity”.
A 2023 analysis by researchers at Stanford University and the National Autonomous University of Mexico found that a “mutilation of the tree of life” was taking place and that it carried “massive potential harms to human society”.
Virality
Soch Fact Check found that some of the posts gained significant traction; these are available here, here, here, here, here, and here.
The claim was also shared here, here, here, here, and here on Instagram and here on Threads.
Conclusion: Geo News actually broadcast a video report about an update to the Doomsday Clock, which is symbolic of the time left until a mass extinction event is caused by manmade technologies. The Clock emphasises the dangers that need to be dealt with to ensure humanity’s survival on Earth and has nothing to do with the Islamic belief in Qayamat or any other religious belief.
Background image in cover photo: Fabien TWB
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