Claim: Pakistan won the World Polo Championship 2022 by beating Mexico in the Final 11-8. Fact: Spain won the World Polo Championship 2022. The Pakistan team defeated Mexico in a match 11-8, placing it in 5th position in the world cup rankings. On 9 November 2022, a Twitter handle called @CPEC_UPDATE claimed that Pakistan had […]
Claim: According to a viral WhatsApp message, a file titled “Mexico did it”, with an image showing “how Covid-19 is cured in Mexico” will install a virus on users’ phones in five seconds. Fact: We found the warning to be bogus; no such file exists. On 8 November 2022, Soch Fact Check received a WhatsApp […]
Claim: A UK court has announced its verdict against Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in a defamation case about a story published by the British tabloid, Daily Mail, about alleged corruption by Sharif. Fact: The High Court has not ruled against Pakistan’s incumbent prime minister. Justice Sir Matthew Nicklin of the High Court King’s Bench […]
Claim: Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) medical director Dr Khalid Masud confirmed 12 torture marks on journalist Arshad Sharif’s body. Fact: Dr Khalid Masud told Soch Fact Check that he never confirmed whether the marks on Arshad Sharif’s body are a sign of torture. Pakistani investigative journalist Arshad Sharif was murdered in Kenya, four […]
Claim: Social media users speculate about the number of bullets that hit Imran Khan during the 3 November attack during his rally near Wazirabad. While some claim three or four bullets hit Khan, others allege that he faked his injuries and was not injured by any bullet. Fact: Imran Khan did not fake his injuries. […]
Claim: Dr Faisal Sultan performed surgery on Imran Khan after the latter suffered a gunshot wound. Fact: Dr Sultan is an infectious diseases expert and did not operate on Khan; a team of doctors comprising orthopaedic, vascular, and general surgeons did. On 5 November 2022, Twitter user @mishikhan_pti shared a video reportedly showing infectious diseases […]
Claim: Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI) leader Ahmad Chatha has been shot dead. Fact: PTI leader Ahmad Chatha is alive and recovering. The news regarding his death is fake. On 3 November 2022, several social media posts claimed that PTI leader Ahmad Chatha, who was shot during the firing incident during a rally in Wazirabad, […]
Claim: Diaspora Pakistani Sarim Rashid flew out to Pakistan from the UK to cast a vote for PTI in the October 2022 by-elections. He flew in just in time for the elections and flew out three hours later back to the UK. Fact: Sarim Rashid did not fly to Pakistan on 16 October to cast […]
Claim: A picture shows some people, including a police officer, shifting Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan after he was injured in a shooting incident at a rally in Wazirabad in Punjab in November 2022. Fact: The picture is actually from 2013 when Imran Khan fell from an overcrowded platform at a campaign rally. On […]
Claim: A notification signed by the District Magistrate Islamabad announced a lockdown in Islamabad. According to this notification, except for essential services such as healthcare and medical supplies, all institutions are to remain closed and the province cordoned off. Fact: This notification is fake. On 3 November 2022, several social media users shared a notification […]
Claim: A video shows journalist Arshad Sharif’s mother. He was recently killed in Kenya. Fact: The video does not show the slain journalist’s mother. The woman in the viral video has been misidentified. Fact or Fiction? On 24 October 2022, Twitter user Sadiq Afridi (@iamSadiqAfridi) shared a video claiming that it shows slain journalist Arshad […]
Claim: A video of Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan, saying he has done “whatever [he] could do” and urging people to “take up [their] responsibility”, was taken as he gets treated in a hospital after he was attacked during an anti-government rally in Wazirabad. Fact: The video is, in fact, more than nine years […]