Claim: A video shows an old man sexually assaulting a minor girl in an agricultural field. Fact: The clip is actually from a 2004 Iranian TV series called “Zahra’s Blue Eyes” and depicts the main character and her grandfather attempting to flee Israeli police officers. On 20 June 2024, anti-Islam activist Salwan Momika posted (archive) […]
Claim: Iraqi refugee Salwan Momika, who has engaged in incidents of burning the Quran, has been found dead in Norway. Fact: Salwan Momika is not dead. He has denied rumours of his death, saying he was being held by Norwegian authorities after fleeing Sweden with the intention to seek asylum in Norway. On 31 May […]
Claim: In a 6 February judgement on a blasphemy case, Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa (1) acquitted the accused without any punishment; (2) ordered the deletion of Section 295-B from the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC); (3) permitted Ahmadis to print their own holy book; and (4) allowed Ahmadis to openly preach their religion. Fact: Chief […]
Claim: On 7 October 2023, Hamas “raped & kidnapped” the daughter of Ireland’s minister of defence and foreign affairs, Micheál Martin, “kidnapped” the daughter of Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris, and “raped & kidnapped” the wife of Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre. Fact: The posts carrying the aforementioned claims have no basis in reality […]
Claim: A woman accused of blasphemy in Lahore’s Ichhra was wearing a dress bearing verses from the Quran. Fact: The dress of a woman who was accused of blasphemy in Lahore’s Ichhra did not have any Quranic verses or inscriptions printed on it. On 5 March 2024, X (formerly Twitter) user @_Zoii__ claimed (archive) that […]
Claim: A video shows PTI’s chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and talk show host, Maleeha Hashmey being affectionate at the Islamabad High Court building. Fact: The video is from India where a former government official can be seen kissing a woman at a court building. Barrister Gohar Gohar was elected as the new chairman of […]
Claim: Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) has announced its support for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) candidates in the 8 February 2024 elections, following a statement made in favour of Imran Khan by the party’s chief Saad Rizvi. Fact: Noman Khalid, TLP’s candidate from NA-113 Sheikhupura-I, denied the claim. He said that TLP urges its supporters to vote for […]
Claim: PML-N’s candidate for National Assembly from Chakwal, Major (r) Tahir Iqbal, said, “The person second to God is known as Mian Nawaz Sharif.” Fact: Major Iqbal’s remarks have been taken out of context and presented in a purposely trimmed video. Upon viewing a longer version of the clip, Iqbal in his speech praises Nawaz […]
Claim: The New York Times recently published an article titled “How US has turned Pakistan into a poor country without going to war,” in which it questions where “the Establishment’s Pakistan vision and strategy” is and praises Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The piece is written by NYT Editor-in-Chief Joseph Hope. Fact: There is no […]
Claim: A fatwa issued ahead of the 2024 general elections in Pakistan advises that it is better to vote for a Muslim candidate than a non-Muslim one. Fact: The fatwa was not issued recently. It was seemingly issued in 2018 in response to a question about PPP leader Hari Ram Kishori Lal’s candidacy. However, it […]
Claim: Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar said that according to the United Nations’ Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (UNWGEID), there are approximately 50 cases of enforced disappearances in Balochistan. Fact: Kakar’s statement is misleading; the WGEID’s recent report cited 1,635 enforced disappearances in Pakistan but did not specify Balochistan’s figures. In 2016, […]
Claim: A video shows graves of Baloch people that Pakistan Army soldiers desecrated as the ethnic community marched to Islamabad, demanding an end to alleged human rights abuses. Fact: The video dates as far back as at least 2018 and is not “the state’s ongoing attempts to attack the graves of those killed” allegedly by […]