Areeba Fatima

Areeba Fatima is a senior fact-checker and investigative reporter. She studied Anthropology at Lahore University of Management Sciences. She has also worked with Fact Focus on an Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) investigation, the Suisse Secrets. She loves working with large datasets to extract meaningful information. She is interested in internet governance, financial crime, political corruption and emerging technologies.

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Claim: Journalist Shaheen Sehbai shared a video claiming it shows the recent brutality of law enforcement agencies against civilian protesters.  Fact: Journalist Shaheen Sehbai shared a clip taken during a 2009 Swat operation, where Pakistani soldiers are seen torturing and beating Taliban suspects in the original 10-minute-long video. On 19 May 2023, Shaheen Sehbai shared […]

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Claim: Geo News published Zulfi Bukhari’s statement claiming that since he is a British citizen, he will not be able to come to Pakistan for Al-Qadir Trust case hearings. Fact: The screenshot is doctored. Geo News did not publish any such statement by Zulfi Bukhari.  On 24 May 2023, a screenshot of what appears to […]

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  Claim: Journalist Amir Mateen shared an old video of police brutality in the current context of political turmoil in Pakistan. Fact: The video is from September 2019 when an SHO in Multan assaulted women on camera.  On 20 May 2023, journalist Amir Mateen shared a video on Twitter, with the caption “What’s going on […]

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Claim: Khadija Shah, granddaughter of former COAS Asif Nawaz Janjua, recorded a video endorsing Imran Khan right before surrendering to the police. The clip has been widely shared on WhatsApp. Fact: The viral video is a TikTok of PTI activist Maya Haider, it does not show Khadija Shah. On 24 May 2023, a video went […]

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Claim: Siraj-ul-Haq is the first Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer (leader) to face an assassination attempt, but no organisation has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, according to Daily Jang Akhbar. Fact: Former Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer (leader) Qazi Hussain Ahmad was attacked in Mohmand in November 2012. On 20 May 2023, Daily Jang Akhbar, Pakistan’s largest newspaper, published an […]

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Claim: A Whatsapp image shows an ARY News headline claiming Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud, the chief of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), has been killed in a drone strike in Afghanistan. Fact: The image is not authentic and the claim has not been confirmed by any credible sources. Local journalists and sources have denied the news of […]

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Claim: According to a Geo News bulletin, a member of the Peshawar Tiger Force hid eight protesters in his house and later called the police on them to collect 16 lakhs in reward money. Fact: Geo News did not publish this bulletin.  On 15 May 2023, an image of a Geo News bulletin went viral […]

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Claim: Maulvi Nigar Alam claimed that Imran Khan is a truthful man and that he is like the Prophet. Fact: Maulvi Nigar Alam made this statement about Saeed Khattak, who is a local PTI leader in Mardan. On 6 May 2023, videos and images of a mob lynching went viral on social media. These images […]

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Claim: According to a letter issued by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Central Secretariat, the Government of Pakistan and Imran Khan have made a bilateral agreement that Khan will not be forced to strip naked or subjected to any kind of torture through metal rods and bamboo sticks or sexual violence. The letter also stated that these […]

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Claim: Shah Mahmood Qureshi has been arrested. Fact: Shah Mahmood Qureshi was not arrested. On 10 May 2023, following Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan’s arrest, a number of social media users claimed that the party’s vice chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi was also arrested.  At the time of publishing, a number of PTI leaders have been […]

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Claim: Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif, posted a tweet expressing his condolences to the families of the victims of a terrorist attack on the Counter Terrorism Department in Swat. Fact: The DPO and DIG Malakand believe this was a result of mishandling of ammunition rather than. On 25 April 2023, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif […]

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Claim: A tweet from PMLN’s official account claims that the Grand Mosque’s administration in Makkah shared an image of Nawaz Sharif surrounded by protocol officers offering Umrah, with the caption, “His Excellency the former Prime Minister of Pakistan performed Umran in Masjid Al Haram earlier today.” Fact: The tweet is misleading because Harmain Shareefain is […]

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