Claim: Several independent candidates claim to be official and nominated ticket holders of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for the 8 February election; their posts and campaigns have gone viral on social media. Fact: Soch Fact Check’s investigation into at least seven candidates, claiming to be official PTI candidates revealed that these individuals were not the party’s […]
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: Imran Khan was seen sporting a beard on 30 January 2024, the day he was sentenced to 10 years for “leaking state secrets”. Fact: A beard was edited onto Khan’s face in an image that was originally posted by PTI Central Legal Coordinator Mashal Yousafzai on 1 August 2023. On 30 January 2024, X […]
Claim: Analyst Michael Kugelman said that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif is “a top candidate to be the next premier not because he’s wildly popular – he certainly is – but more so because he’s played his cards right”. Fact: The BBC misquoted Kugelman in an article. In his original comment to the […]
Claim: A video on social media shows a protest in Pakistan against Supreme Court Chief Justice Qazi Faez Essa over the decision to ban PTI from carrying the bat symbol. Fact: The claim is false because the video is not from Pakistan. The clip was taken in Udaipur, India when protests erupted across Rajasthan after […]
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: Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan is on financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s list; court documents identifying his associates are now public. Fact: Khan’s name is not on the list and the evidence presented in the viral post does not prove his connection with Epstein. Jeffrey Epstein scandal Financier Jeffrey Epstein, born on 20 […]
Claim: A screenshot of a Siasat.pk social media post states that fashion designer and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supporter Khadijah Shah holds Imran Khan and his party responsible for her arrest. In the statement, Shah urged people not to attack the state by falling prey to a cult of personality, asking them not to attack the […]
Claim: The social media platform X has “lashed out” at the Government of Pakistan and “called out” Murtaza Solangi over his post regarding an article written by Imran Khan for The Economist and advised him to “Verify Facts Before Sharing”. Fact: X has not “lashed out” at the Government of Pakistan or “called out” Murtaza Solangi. […]
Claim: Election Commission Pakistan (ECP) has imposed a ban on political surveys & opinion polls just ahead of general elections scheduled on 8 February 2024. Fact: ECP’s ban on political surveys is not recent. According to clause 12 of the ECP’s Code of Conduct for National Media, organisations and media persons are prohibited from entrance […]
Claim: Mohammad Zubair confessed that his meetings with General Qamar Bajwa and Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed led to the establishment of the PDM. Fact: Zubair has denied making any such statement. On 1 January 2024, the political discussion forum, Siasat.pk, posted (archive) a visual on X (formerly Twitter) with the following text, “پی ڈی ایم […]
Claim: Former Finance Minister Miftah Ismail stated that if the constitutional order and law in Pakistan was fair, Former Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan would be out of jail and all members of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) would be in jail. Fact: Miftah Ismail did not make any claim of the sort and […]