Claim: A vehicle riddled with bullets is evidence of state authorities’ firing on the PTI protesters during the November 2024 demonstrations in Islamabad, according to a viral video. Fact: The video has no connection to the PTI protest. It actually shows the aftermath of an attack by the militant group BLA on private security guards […]
Claim: A combination of videos show the destruction caused by a storm, likely Éowyn, in the UK in January 2025. Fact: None of the visuals are from any of the storms that hit the UK in January 2025. Two of the videos are old and unrelated whereas a third one was created using digital manipulation […]
Claim: Singapore has elected Halimah Yacob as its new president. Fact: Singapore has not elected Halimah Yacob as its new president. Yacob was the city-state’s eighth president and held the position from 2017 to 2023. The Republic’s incumbent president is Tharman Shanmugaratnam. On 1 January 2025, Threads user @riazkhanbadani posted (archive) a video showing the […]
Claim: A video shows an Israeli hostage, recently released by Hamas, reuniting with her family. Fact: The video shows an Israeli hostage, Moran Stella Yanai, reuniting with her family after she was released by Hamas back in November 2023. Yanai was not released as a part of the recent ceasefire deal in January 2025. […]
Claim: Chris Gayle’s daughter, Shamilia Connell, managed to turn the tables and clinched victory against India in a recent cricket match. Fact: Shamilia Connell is not Chris Gayle’s daughter. The accompanying video in the claim is doctored to show that the West Indies won whereas India actually won the cricket match in question. […]
Claim: A video shows Donald Trump seeking forgiveness from Allah following the devastating fires in Los Angeles. Fact: The absence of credible news reports and an audio analysis of Trump’s alleged voice confirms that it is doctored. A video (archive) shared on Facebook allegedly features the US President asking for Allah’s forgiveness after the wildfires […]
Claim: A bird that can breathe fire or shoot fire from its eyes caused the Los Angeles wildfires, according to a video. Fact: No such fire-breathing bird exists. The accompanying video is actually the work of a VFX artist who created the clip back in 2020 using CGI and compositing technique. On 23 January 2025, […]
Claim: A video shows a large group of people sleeping in an open ground after losing their homes in the Los Angeles wildfires. Fact: The claim is false because the video is from 2023 and shows people, who attended the “ World Youth Day” in Lisbon, Portugal, sleeping in Tejo Park. On 24 January 2025, […]
Claim: Geo News reported that a new American visa policy will allow foreign workers to move to a state in the US where they will be given free accommodation, three meals a day, and a job with a salary of 45 lacs a month. No prior experience or qualifications are required and so labourers can […]
Claim: A series of images shows the wildfire in Los Angeles. Fact: The post is false as the footage is AI-generated and does not show real visuals from the incident. On 12 January 2025, a user on Threads posted a series of images with the caption: “Why isn’t this contained yet? It’s now coming up […]
Claim: Geo News reported that a new mobile application called ‘mizmaxs’ allows you to earn PKR 1,200 as soon as you download it and you can keep earning more from that point. The report also claims that you can earn money every 4 minutes if you have a phone with a touchscreen. Fact: Geo News […]
Claim: A video shows a Pakistan Air Force helicopter shot down by the Afghan Taliban along the disputed Durand line. Fact: The claim is false as the video is from September 2023 and shows a Pakistan Navy helicopter crashing due to a mechanical fault. On 28 December 2024, a user on X (formerly Twitter) posted […]
Claim: A video shows children falling sick in school after receiving polio vaccination in the Khyber district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Fact: The claim is false as these children did not receive the polio vaccine. The video is from the November 2024 deworming campaign in which students fell sick in a school in Jamrud after allegedly […]
Claim: Video shows Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) members Zartaj Gul and Ali Muhammad Khan embracing each other at a rally. Fact: The video is AI-generated. A Facebook user posted a reel (archive) apparently showing Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf members Zartaj Gul and Ali Muhammad Khan embracing each other at a rally, with embedded text in the video which […]
Claim 1: Canada has opened 60,000 new visa slots and applying for a two-year Canadian visa is free. Claim 2: The LMIA document is being offered for free to workers, and workers wishing to immigrate to Canada only need to have a medical examination done. Fact 1: Canada has not opened 60,000 new […]
Claim 1: TTP militants staged a video at an abandoned US checkpoint in Spin Boldak, Afghanistan, falsely claiming they captured a checkpoint in Bajaur, Pakistan. Claim 2: In their capture of the checkpoint, TTP militants took over a significant area of Bajaur and 13 personnel from the Pakistan army were martyred. Fact 1: […]
Claim: A viral video on social media shows Saudi Arabia’s Defence Minister fleeing after he was frightened by the firecrackers set off to welcome him at Riyadh’s Chinese Embassy. Fact: The claim is false as the video is not from Riyadh. It is actually from 2019 and shows a mock military drill in Kuwait. On […]
Claim: An image shows Pakistan’s national flag being burned in Kurram district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Fact: The claim is false as the image is not recent or from Pakistan. The image is from 2013 when protesters in Afghanistan set Pakistan’s flag on fire after border clashes between the two countries. On 20 January 2025, a user […]
Claim: US President Donald Trump invited Elon Musk on stage and said that the ban on X will soon be lifted in all the countries where the platform is currently banned. Fact: The claim is false. Trump did not make any statements regarding lifting bans on X. On 20 January, X user @MShehzadSpeaks, shared a […]
Claim: Videos circulating on social media allegedly show Chief Minister of Punjab Maryam Nawaz’s interaction with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan as he was welcomed at the Rahim Yar Khan airport on 5 January. Video 1: Maryam Nawaz is shaking hands with the UAE President while Shehbaz Sharif claps. Video 2: Prime […]
Claim: A video shows the first stage of the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires, in which “fire [started] falling from the sky” when a celestial object was struck by unidentified objects and erupted into flames. Fact: The video is not only unrelated to the Los Angeles wildfires but was digitally created and originally posted back […]
Claim: A video shows lightning was behind the recent deadly wildfires in Los Angeles, California. Fact: The video is not related to the recent wildfires and is likely AI-generated. On 10 January, a TikTok user posted a video (archive) purportedly showing lightning falling to the ground and starting the fires in Los Angeles, California. The […]
Claim: Donald Trump defended the burqa after being “impressed” by Imran Khan’s remarks about Muslim women’s veils in the past, particularly when the latter said that “girls use hijab as a weapon”. The US president also stated, “Veiling is more appropriate than wearing make-up. If I were a woman, I would also wear the veil.” […]
Claim: A video shows Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa mosque during Friday prayer. Fact: The video actually shows the holy day of Ashura at the shrine of Imam Hussain in Karbala, Iraq. On 10 January 2025, a post (archive) on Facebook shared a 30-second clip of a large number of people entering what appeared to be […]
Claim: The National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) has changed its policy and does not include the special designation “Resident of AJK State” on Computerised National Identity Cards (CNICs) of Azad Jammu and Kashmir residents. Fact: The claim is misleading as no such changes have been made in the policy. NADRA refuted the claim and […]
Claim: Video shows a Pakistani soldier trudging through snow on a high altitude mountain. Fact: The video has signs of manipulation and is a misleading caricature of Pakistani soldiers stationed at high altitude mountains. A Facebook user posted a video (archive) apparently showing a Pakistani soldier trudging through snow on a high altitude mountain. The […]
Claim: A song by Naseebo Lal was played on a metro train in the UK. Fact: The song was actually played on a metro train in Barcelona, Spain. A reel on Facebook posted by Dialogue Pakistan on 11 January 2025 shows passengers on a metro train with a song by Pakistani singer Naseebo […]
Claim: West Indies cricketer Chris Gayle was seen enjoying the snow in Kumrat valley, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Fact: The image is doctored; it was made using a photo which originally shows Gayle in New York. On 11 January 2025, a post on Facebook claimed that West Indies cricketer Chris Gayle was spotted in Kumrat, […]
Claim: A picture of multiple shrouded dead bodies in an ambulance shows PTI protesters killed by Pakistani authorities during the November 2024 unrest. Fact: The photo has no connection to the PTI’s protest; it is, in fact, from Palestine and surfaced as early as 1 November 2024, over three weeks before the Islamabad demonstration. On […]
Claim: Images show a child was tortured to death by a teacher at a public school in Mansehra, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Fact: While the photo of the boy in a school uniform is most likely from Mansehra, the collage of images in the claim showing his lacerated body, is unrelated to the incident. The images […]