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.

True False

Claim: A mountain of gold has been found in the Euphrates River. Fact: A mountain of gold has not been found in the Euphrates River. On 18 April 2023, a Twitter user uploaded an image showing a site of ruins with the caption: The Prophet PBUH said, “The Hour will not come to pass before […]

Read More
True False

Claim: Geo News reported that New Zealand cricketer Siimon Doull sayd he was living in Pakistan like a prisoner; he was not allowed to go out and was not given any food for many days. The cricketer said he has suffered mental torture and is glad he has now escaped Pakistan. Fact: The claim originates […]

Read More
True False

  Claim: Ten billion rupees out of 21 billion rupees, has been released for the Election Commission of Pakistan to conduct the Punjab Assembly elections. The rest of the funds will be disbursed once the KPK Assembly elections are scheduled.  Fact: The Ministry of Finance has not yet released any funds to the Election Commission […]

Read More
True False

Claim: A picture shows Ali Amin Gandapur crying under the duress of his arrest. Fact: The picture has been edited by using an Instagram filter. On April 9, 2023, a picture of Ali Amin, former federal minister of Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) politician, went viral. The image appears to show Amin […]

Read More
True False

Claim: An image shows Governor Sindh Kamran Tessori in police custody 15 years ago for stealing a bike.  Fact: The image actually shows Governor Sindh Kamran Tessori in police custody for allegedly being involved in a police encounter in 2008.  On 11 April 2023, Haqeeqat TV shared an image on Twitter of Sindh Governor Muhammad […]

Read More
True False

Claim: A mosque appeared in an Algerian desert after a sandstorm.  Fact: The pictures represent two separate structures present in El Oued, Algeria, suspected to be a village.  On 17 April 2023, a Twitter account (@Arabbeau) posted two pictures with the caption, “A mosque appeared in the desert after a sandstorm – Algeria.” The pictures […]

Read More
True False

Claim: Passengers refused to travel with Nawaz Sharif in an airplane Fact: A doctored screenshot falsely claims that journalist Rana Waheed reported that passengers refused to travel with Nawaz Sharif. Rana Waheed clarified that he did not report this.  On 11 April 2023, a pro-PTI Twitter account posted a tweet sharing a screenshot which claims […]

Read More
True False

Claim: Maryam Nawaz Sharif recently said in an interview that it is time for Imran Khan to be erased.  Fact: A snippet of an old interview of Maryam Nawaz Sharif was taken out of context to imply that she believes that it is time Imran Khan to be “erased”. The complete sentence is: “Zulm jab […]

Read More
True False

Claim: Addressing a crowd at Zaman Park, Imran Khan said he would never take a loan when he becomes prime minister. Fact: Imran Khan did not say that he will never take a loan when he becomes prime minister during the 21st iftar Zaman Park address. On 12 April 2023, Neo News published an article […]

Read More
True False

Claim: A video posted by Tiktok user @badshahkhan123pti shows a beeper from journalist Hamid Mir’s show that says “Imran Khan’s historic jalsa at minar-e-pakistan lahore” and claims that it is from Imran Khan’s recent March 2023 rally. Fact: The beeper from Hamid Mir’s show is not from Imran Khan’s recent March 2023 Jalsa at the […]

Read More
True False

Claim: A study found lab-grown meat from a Bill Gates-backed company causes cancer. Fact: The claim is false and based on a misinterpretation of a study that did not test any lab-grown meat products funded by Gates. The study tested a plant-based meat product backed by Gates but found no link to cancer. On March […]

Read More
True False

Claim: Salman Ahmad of Junoon has been arrested recently. Fact: Old videos of Salman Ahmad being arrested were shared out of context. On 25 March 2023, YouTuber Imran Riaz Khan shared a tweet claiming Salman Ahmad, a former member of the band Junoon, had been arrested. At the same time, a video was shared on […]

Read More