Claim: A video shows former defence minister Pervaiz Khattak hurling abuse at journalists while entering the National Assembly. Fact: The former speaker of the National Assembly, Asad Qaiser, was the one who used abusive language, not Khattak. On 9 April 2022, Facebook page ‘Talaqi Ik Neyazi’ posted a video showing Pervaiz Khattak and Asad Qaiser, […]
Claim: A video circulating on Facebook allegedly shows a live caller insulting Prime Minister Imran Khan during a national live TV session hosted by Khan on 4 April 2022. Fact: The video is doctored. The original video features a live caller praising Imran Khan and approving of the prime minister’s handling of the current political […]
Claim: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has said it will not be able to conduct general elections within three months due to procedural and legal challenges. Fact: The ECP clarified on 5 April 2022 that it did not issue any statement concerning early elections in Pakistan. Fact or Fiction? On 5 April 2022, Hello […]
Claim: World Bank data from 2020 to 2022 suggests that Pakistan has the lowest unemployment rate in South Asia. Fact: The latest data available is up to the year 2020, not 2022. Further, that data suggests that in 2020, Bhutan had the lowest unemployment rate in South Asia, not Pakistan. Fact or Fiction? On 22 […]
Claim: An image shows a TV screen broadcasting Geo News‘ bulletin in which the news card quotes Imran Khan as saying, “After the neutral comment, the army is upset with me. Maybe the vote of no confidence will succeed.” Fact: Khan did not make any such statement as is shown in the picture. The image, […]
Claim: Pakistani columnist Orya Maqbool Jan shared a screenshot of a letter that indicates the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), an American non-governmental organisation (NGO), is providing monetary support to opposition parties in Pakistan to work against Prime Minister Imran Khan. Fact: The alleged letter from the NED is forged. It has several digital errors […]
Claim: Individuals associated with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) have shared brief clips of women praising Prime Minister Imran Khan and his government. These posts are accompanied by captions in favour of Pakistan’s ruling party. Fact: The videos are snippets from two interviews from 2021 of the same woman. She has appeared in several videos on […]
Claim: A WhatsApp voice message warns people not to consume beef, loose milk, and yoghurt due to the Lumpy Skin Disease Virus (LSDV) that has infected cattle in Karachi and can transmit to humans, causing blisters. The WhatsApp message was accompanied by an image of a notification issued by a Government of Sindh department. Fact: […]
Claim: Prime Minister Imran Khan said that India’s foreign policy is better than Pakistan’s. He also said that the Indian Army is not corrupt and that it never interferes in the matters of the civilian government. Fact: While the prime minister did laud India’s foreign policy in his 20 March 2022 address, he did not […]
Claim: Pictures of various different fighter jets run with news of Pakistan Air Force (PAF) trainer aircraft’s crash. Fact: The pictures are not of the plane that crashed on 22 March 2022 near Peshawar. On 22 March 2022, the spokesperson of the PAF informed the media about the crash landing of a PAF trainer aircraft […]
Claim: A picture shows a young woman at the Aurat March sporting a poster that, when translated from Urdu to English, says, “Khota Puli Chowk in Gujranwala should be renamed to Khoti Puli Chowk.” Fact: The text on the poster is doctored. The actual text is in Roman Urdu and translates to, “This is me, […]
Claim: The Government of Pakistan has announced a three-day public holiday across the country. Fact: The government did announce a three-day holiday from 22 March to 24 March 2022 but in Islamabad only, in connection with the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers meeting. Fact or Fiction? On 10 March 2022, Express […]