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 […]
Claim: A video shows singer Muhammad Ashraf Malik, also commonly known as Malkoo, under arrest after performing at a concert in Sargodha. Fact: The singer was not arrested, but was in fact escorted out of the venue by the Sargodha Police. Fact or Fiction? On 14 December 2023, X (formerly Twitter) user Shakir Mehmood Awan […]
Claim: The Intercept is an Indian propaganda tool run by an Indian named Sumi Agarwal Fact: The Intercept is an investigative journalism platform co-founded by Glenn Greenwald, Jeremy Scahill and Laura Poitras. Pierre Omidyar, eBay founder and philanthropist, provided the funding to launch The Intercept in 2014. On 18 December 2023, X (formerly, Twitter) account […]
Claim: The BBC produced and ran a video report debunking “the entire drama of 9 May”, when protests erupted in Pakistan over Imran Khan’s arrest. The video features footage from the demonstrations, identifies two individuals as state functionaries who fanned the flames, and asks key questions about what transpired that day. Fact: The BBC never […]
Claim: Khursheed Shah has apologised for the Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) “mistake” to join hands with Nawaz Sharif and remove Imran Khan’s government from power. Fact: The PPP parliamentarian did not apologise for ousting Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf’s (PTI) government. Instead, he apologised for forming a coalition with the Pakistan Democratic Movement’s (PDM) government. PDM is a […]