Claim: The Burj Khalifa refused to display Pakistan’s flag on the country’s 76th Independence Day, and the United Arab Emirates banned them from doing so. The landmark in Dubai did not light up to commemorate the occasion.
Fact: The world’s tallest building lit up with Pakistan’s national flag on the evening of 14 August 2023, as the United Arab Emirates marked the nation’s Independence Day.
Fact or Fiction?
On 15 August 2023, Amit Kumar posted a video on Facebook claiming that the UAE government barred the Burj Khalifa from displaying Pakistan’s flag to commemorate its Independence Day.
“Prank With Pakistan | UAE Govt Banned Pakistan Flag on Burj khalifa on 14 August #2023 #viral #burjkhalifadubai,” the caption of the post reads.
In the video, a woman can be heard saying that people gathered around the Burj Khalifa at midnight and chanting ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ but the building did not light up with Pakistan’s flag colours.
While the landmark did not light up at midnight, Soch Fact Check found the claim to be misleading. A keyword search revealed that multiple media outlets, including Geo News and Gulf News, reported that the Burj Khalifa was illuminated in Pakistani flag colours on Independence Day on the evening of 14 August 2023. Arab News also posted a video of the light show.
Virality:
The claim was shared here, here, here, and here on Facebook.
Startup Pakistan also shared the claim on Facebook but later issued an update.
On Twitter, the claim can be found here, here, here, here, and here.
The tweet by @ShayaanAlii received over 760,500 views, 12,200 likes, 2,346 reposts, and 128 quote tweets.
Conclusion: Contrary to viral claims, the Burj Khalifa did light up to commemorate Pakistan’s 76th Independence Day on 14 August 2023.