Claim: The PML-N has announced its decision to boycott the 2024 general elections being held on 8 February in Pakistan. Fact: The PML-N has made no such announcement; the accounts making the claim are fake and not associated with the party. On 8 February 2024, X (formerly Twitter) user @Hasnain8082 posted (archive) a screenshot of […]
Claim: Alison Wills from Canada supports Nawaz Sharif and PML-N for the upcoming election in Pakistan. Fact: @Alisonwills27 is a fake account on X. On 5 February 2024, this post was shared on X by user @Alisonwills27 with the caption: “My name is Alison Wills. I’m from Canada and I Support Nawaz Sharif”. Fact or […]
Claim: PML-N’s candidate for National Assembly from Chakwal, Major (r) Tahir Iqbal, said, “The person second to God is known as Mian Nawaz Sharif.” Fact: Major Iqbal’s remarks have been taken out of context and presented in a purposely trimmed video. Upon viewing a longer version of the clip, Iqbal in his speech praises Nawaz […]
Claim: A picture shows the father of PML-N leaders Nawaz Sharif and Shehbaz Sharif, standing handcuffed after being arrested for stealing a buffalo. Fact: The picture actually shows the late Kashmiri separatist leader Maqbool Bhat, who was arrested in 1976 and executed on 11 February 1984. On 27 January 2024, Facebook user ‘Kamred Aslam Khaskheli’ […]
Claim: Video shows massive support from PTI workers as they fill the streets in Lahore in response to PTI’s call to protest in January 2024. Fact: This is an old video from when Imran Khan was en route to the Judicial Complex in Islamabad. On 28 January 2024, a video shared on X, claimed to […]
Claim: PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal was hit by a shoe at a public rally as he began his campaign for the upcoming elections. Fact: The video is from March 2021, outside the National Assembly. There are no recent, credible news reports about Iqbal being attacked while campaigning. On 14 January 2024, vlogger Sabee Kazmi shared […]
Claim: A Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidate Mehr Muhammad Waseem withdrew from Lahore’s NA-119 in favour of PML-N’s Maryam Nawaz. Fact: PTI’s candidate for Maryam Nawaz’s constituency was not Mehr Muhammad Waseem. On 21 January 2024, Geo News and Express Tribune, published articles titled “’Breakthrough’ for PML-N as PTI candidate withdraws in favour of Maryam Nawaz”, […]
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: 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: 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 photo of a news headline saying Bushra Bibi will engage in an 11-day religious ritual to remedy the PTI’s political situation and that PTI sources believe that a solar eclipse may affect Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s political position. Fact: The photo of the news headline was doctored before it was shared by PML-N leader Hina […]
Claim: The News, Geo News, Arab News Pakistan, Express Tribune, and other social media users claimed on 23 July 2023 that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) has agreed to appoint Finance Minister Ishaq Dar as the caretaker prime minister. Fact: The claim is false. Defence Minister Khawaja Asif and Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, who are both […]