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 viral image shows former Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi’s mother’s house, highlighting how she lived in “simplicity”. Fact: The image does not show Raisi’s mother or her home. In fact, the image is from 2016 and shows Raisi visiting residents from the impoverished areas of Mashhad, Iran. On 23 May 2024, Facebook user “Verified […]
Claim: A viral picture shows Prince William getting emotional while embracing Prince Harry over Kate Middleton’s dire health situation. Fact: The image is AI-generated. Moreover, the royal family has not issued any updates suggesting that Kate Middleton’s health is in serious condition. On 22 May 2024, a user on Facebook posted an image (archive) of […]
Claim: A viral video clip shows US President Biden falling asleep on stage during a Memorial Day observance event. Fact: A video clip with poor resolution was shared without context to make it look like President Joe Biden fell asleep during the event. On 27 May 2024 X (formerly Twitter) user @TPostMillennial shared a video […]
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: Videos and pictures show the Eiffel Tower on fire. Fact: The videos and images are fake and made with VFX editing. The Eiffel Tower never caught fire. Several posts of the Eiffel Tower on fire have gone viral on social media. On 18 January 2023, TikTok user @kazakhstandazhasalgan posted images of the Eiffel Tower on […]
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 […]