Claim: Ayesha Akram called Prime Minister Imran Khan during a televised live event in which he was taking calls from citizens. Fact: The video has been doctored. Footage of a television broadcast from several months ago has been overlaid with another voiceover to depict a phone call from Akram. Background On 14th August, TikToker Ayesha […]
Claim: Zahir Jaffer’s time as a student at Therapy Works ended in 2018, when he was removed from his Level 4 certification due to incomplete coursework. He was also not allowed to see clients at Therapy Works. Fact: Jaffer’s peers confirmed that he was enrolled in the Level 4 certification program but did not complete […]
Claim: A Pakistani tabloid claims that author Fatima Bhutto demanded that Zahir Jaffer be given privileges in jail. Fact: Bhutto, in fact, criticised the Pakistani penal system for giving Zahir Jaffer privileges in jail. On 6 August, a tabloid news outlet called The Snazzy Report shared a post on Instagram that claimed author and columnist […]
Claim: Pakistani authorities hunted and killed a werewolf in Balochistan. However, some social media posts claim the mythical creature was found in Punjab’s Sialkot and Kashmir. Fact: Pakistani authorities did not kill a werewolf. The images being shared on social media feature an animatronic sculpture created by SFX artist Joseph-Rob Cobasky. [Content warning: Pictures in […]
Claim: Two mass Covid-19 vaccination centres in Karachi and Lahore are experiencing a shortage of the vaccine. Fact: The claim is half true, half false. Karachi’s Expo Centre has run out of stock of the CanSino Bio and Sinopharm vaccines. Only AstraZeneca and Sinovac are available, while Sinopharm is only available for those returning for […]
Claim: Minister Fawad Chaudhry called for the imposition of either governor’s rule of Article 148 in Sindh. Fact: Chaudhry ruled out the possibility of the governor’s rule, calling it undemocratic, and asked the Supreme Court to enforce Article 140A in Sindh. Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry addressed the media in Karachi on […]
Claim: Unidentified men gang-raped a minor girl from the Christian community in Faisalabad after she refused to convert to Islam. They also tortured her and cut her hair. Fact: The minor Chrisitan girl in question was neither sexually abused nor forced to convert to Islam. However, she has an undiagnosed ailment that led a pastor […]
Claim: Parents in Sindh will now be obligated to marry off their children once they turn 18 under the new legislation. Fact: The Sindh Compulsory Marriage Act, 2021 is yet to be cleared by the CII and the provincial government’s law department before being officially tabled, debated upon, and voted on in the Sindh Assembly. […]
Claim: Benazir Income Support Program deserves the recognition given to Ehsaas Emergency Cash Program by the World Bank. Fact: While the Ehsaas Emergency Cash Program used the technological protocol first initiated by BISP, the program was launched and overseen by the PTI government. The World Bank recently released a report, naming Pakistan’s Ehsaas Emergency Cash […]
Claim: Punjab Curriculum and Textbook Board has disallowed schools from teaching art, music, computer sciences, handwriting, and drama. Fact: PCTB has included computer sciences and art in their scheme of studies. While music, handwriting, and drama are not included in the scheme, it allows for a range of other co-curricular activities like sports and critical […]
Claim: New Zealand is one of the first countries to allow for paid leave after miscarriage, second only to India. Fact: Multiple countries have instituted paid leaves after miscarriages and stillbirths. While New Zealand is the only country to mandate leave for partners as well in case of miscarriages, other countries like Denmark and Singapore […]
Claim: European countries stopped using the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine after cases of blood clots were reported. Fact: Some European countries temporarily paused the use of Oxford-AstraZeneca’s vaccine. At least 18 of these countries have now removed the pause. Thromboembolic Events with Blood Clots During the first three weeks of March, countries across Europe temporarily paused […]