Claim: A video shows Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senior Vice President, Maryam Nawaz dancing. Fact: The video is a deepfake altered by replacing the dancer’s face with Maryam Nawaz’s to create the impression that she is the one dancing. It actually shows Indonesian model, Jihane Almira Chedid. How are deepfakes created? An article published by […]
Claim: Khawaja Asif had ink thrown on him as a warning ahead of Nawaz Sharif’s return on 21 October. Fact: The video is more than five years old and does not show a recent attack on Khawaja Asif. On 29 September 2023, the Facebook user ‘پھول نگر واچ’ posted a video (archive) showing Khawaja Muhammad […]
Claim: A picture shows Nawaz Sharif walking with the judge, Humayun Dilawar. A similar post claims the image depicts Sharif walking with the late judge, Arshad Malik. Fact: The man walking alongside Nawaz Sharif is journalist Kousar Kazmi, not Dilawar or Malik, the latter of whom has passed away. On 18 August 2023, Soch Fact […]
Claim: A social media user shares a video clip of Mahira Khan and states a longer video contains sensitive content. Fact: The video, which is actually behind-the-scenes footage shot by a makeup artist, shows Mahira Khan having a light-hearted conversation with her team and stating that she’s hungry. On 8 August 2023, Twitter user @ssgviews […]
Claim: The Prime Minister’s Youth Programme (PMYP) has launched a programme in collaboration with the German Academic Exchange Service for Pakistani students to get the chance to study at universities in Germany on scholarship. Fact: The DAAD’s Islamabad office has said they do not “have any ongoing collaboration linked to the PMY Programme” at present. […]
Claim: A video shows Rana Sanaullah engaging in sexual activities with another man. Fact: The video, which can be traced as far back as at least 2019, does not show Rana Sanaullah and has been wrongly linked to the Pakistani interior minister. On 1 June 2023, Facebook user ‘Hammad Abbasi’ posted a video (archive) that […]
Claim: A video claims to show Khawaja Asif facing the first public backlash as a man throws ink on his face during a speech after “calling teachers dacoits”. Fact: The video does not show the public’s reaction to Khawaja Asif “calling teachers dacoits”. The clip is, in fact, from 2018 and is not related to […]
Claim: A screengrab of a television show suggests that the authorities in Saudi Arabia and Prince Mohammed Bin Salman have turned down former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s request for a meeting during his recent visit to the kingdom. Fact: The screengrab is doctored. Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb tweeted on 21 April 2023 that the Pakistan […]
Claim: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has announced they will boycott elections in Punjab, which were scheduled to be held on 14 May 2023 as per court orders. Fact: PML-N has not announced a boycott of the upcoming Punjab elections. Fact or Fiction? On 20 April 2023, the Facebook page Pakistantopup shared a claim that […]
Claim: A social media post of a news clipping from a newspaper states that 21 Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) candidates returned their party tickets before the election. Fact: The claim is false as the news clipping is not from 2023. The news was published in the Urdu daily newspaper Khabrain during the 2018 general […]
Claim: A news grab of Hum News’ bulletin suggests that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader Maryam Nawaz has said that people from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf are jealous of her beauty. Fact: The media outlet did not air any such news, nor did the PML-N leader make any such comment. The news grab doing the rounds on […]
Claim: A photo shows the mother and grandmother of former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Supremo, Nawaz Sharif, and claims they played the drum in the streets of Amritsar in colonial India. Fact: The picture, in fact, shows two people from the khawajasira community. The image, which was taken between 1890 and 1894, […]