Claim: Pakistani journalist Ali Musa Raza died while reporting at the site of the recent Punjab floods.
Fact: Raza confirmed to Soch Fact Check that he is alive and well. Additionally, he debunked the claims of his death in a follow-up video and clarified the same in a recent interview.
Social media pages have been circulating claims that Pakistani journalist Ali Musa Raza died while reporting in neck-high floodwaters in the country’s Punjab province during the monsoon season (archived here, here, and here).
Raza works for Rohi TV, which is part of the City News Network. In the original video aired 14 July 2025, he can be seen reporting live despite torrential floodwater in Sakhi Sarwar, Dera Ghazi Khan, and struggling to hold the mic while explaining the conditions in the area.
Towards the end of the clip, however, he is dragged far away from the camera before his voice apparently cuts off, likely fuelling claims of his death.
The journalist posted the footage on his own Facebook and TikTok accounts as well.
Floods in Punjab
High levels of water in the Indus River has led to flooding in many villages in Punjab during the monsoon season, according to a 14 July 2025 report published in Dawn.
“The floodwater inundated [Mouza] Jhang, Jarrah, Ada Arain, Bodo Minha, and Bait Ashraf villages,” the publication wrote, adding that people were “evacuated through boats as part of the ongoing rescue operations”.
Al Jazeera reported on 17 July that the death toll from heavy monsoon rains in Punjab in 24 hours totalled 65, with almost 300 people injured, according to provincial officials.
The Punjab Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) said there was medium-level flooding at Kalabagh “due to monsoon rains and melting glaciers”, Dunya News reported on 18 July.
Flooding has also impacted Taunsa, Layyah, Rajanpur, and Mianwali, according to a 26 July report in The Nation.
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has promised compensation to people who lost their houses, crops, and livestock animals.
“Thousands of residents across several districts in Punjab” have been displaced so far as “widespread flooding inundated low-lying areas”, another Dawn report from 27 July added.
Punjab authorities issued a flood alert on 29 July, “warning of rising water levels in the Chenab, Jhelum, and Sutlej rivers”, Arab News reported, adding that there was a risk of urban flooding in “Rawalpindi, Gujranwala and Lahore over the next 48 hours”. Citing National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) data, the article further said the total death toll this monsoon season has climbed to 288.
The independent environmental and human rights organisation Germanwatch’s Climate Risk Index (CRI) ranked Pakistan as one of the three countries that are most affected by extreme weather events’ impacts in 2022.
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check tracked down Raza and spoke to him over phone. The journalist said he’s alive and well and criticised Indian media outlets for airing baseless claims about his death.
We also came across a Rohi TV video aired on 20 July, wherein the journalist similarly debunked claims about his death and slammed Indian news organisations for spreading lies about him. The report is captioned, “بھارتی میڈیا کیجانب سے مارے جانیوالا ر پورٹر زندہ نکل آیا کے رپورٹر نے برساتی نالے کے تیز پانی میں رپورٹنگ کی [Reporter killed by Indian media emerges alive. Rohi reporter reported in the rushing water of storm drains]”.
His video debunking his own death claims was also aired by City42 and 24 News HD, both of which are owned by Rohi TV’s parent company, City News Network.
Raza uploaded other videos of him reporting from the same floods on 14 July. Since then, there has been regular activity on his Facebook account, as evidenced by posts available here, here, and here.
In the comments on his Facebook post containing the original video, he responded to a user and said, “Yes, yes, I’m alive.”
In an interview with Nukta, the journalist said such flooding often occurs in Koh-e-Sulaiman and that it was “routine” reporting for me.
Reports stating that Raza “was swept away” while reporting — such as here, here, and here — contributed to the confusion about the journalist’s condition. Even China Global Television Network (CGTN) used similar wording.
Moreover, City42 itself — owned by Rohi TV’s parent company, City News Network — used misleading text in its 17 July 2025 headline, which read, “Live Reporting Ky Doran Selab A Gaya – Reporter Pani Me Doob Gaya [Floods occurred during live reporting – reporter drowned in water].”
Virality
Soch Fact Check found the claim circulating here, here, and here on Facebook, here on TikTok, and here, here, and here on Instagram.
Indian outlet Mint also misreported the incident, fuelling misinformation.
Other posts and news reports by Indian media organisations were debunked by India Today Fact Check.
Conclusion: Raza confirmed to Soch Fact Check that he is alive and well. Additionally, he debunked the claims of his death in a follow-up video and also appeared in an interview to clarify the same.
Background image in cover photo: sheikh.amirhussain
To appeal against our fact-check, please send an email to appeals@sochfactcheck.com