Claim: PKR 5,000 banknotes are being discontinued across Pakistan. Fact: Pakistan’s caretaker information minister has not confirmed a ban on the PKR 5000 banknote. However, when a lawmaker suggested that the PKR 5,000 banknotes should be discontinued, the minister indicated that such policy decisions should be made by the next Parliament. On 21 November 2023, […]
Claim: Khursheed Shah has apologised for the Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) “mistake” to join hands with Nawaz Sharif and remove Imran Khan’s government from power. Fact: The PPP parliamentarian did not apologise for ousting Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf’s (PTI) government. Instead, he apologised for forming a coalition with the Pakistan Democratic Movement’s (PDM) government. PDM is a […]
Claim: A picture shows US President Joe Biden kneeling in front of George Floyd’s daughter and asking for her forgiveness on behalf of the state. Fact: The picture shows Biden speaking to C.J. Brown, the son of a Detroit store owner, while he was campaigning to become the President of the United States. On 23 […]
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 Imran Khan sleeping on the floor of a jail cell. Fact: The image was taken during the 2011 sit-in organised by Imran Khan against drone strikes in Pakistan. It has been doctored to include the prison bars. On 7 August 2023, the Facebook page ‘Peshawar Zalmi Confessions’ posted a picture (archive) […]
Claim: An image shows Imran Khan walking out of jail with inmates and prison guards in the background. Fact: The image is not real but generated by artificial intelligence. On 29 August 2023, Instagram user @talhamalik.pti posted a picture (archive) showing Imran Khan — Pakistan’s former prime minister and the chief of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) […]
Claim: Two photographs show the jail cell in which Imran Khan is being detained. Fact: The images are, in fact, of cells in the closed-down Ohio State Reformatory and Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary; they were taken in 2021 and 2016. On 11 August 2023, X (formerly Twitter) user @p4pakipower1 posted a picture (archive) apparently of a […]
Claim: In a parliamentary speech, which was termed his ‘farewell address’ on 9 August 2023, former prime minister Shehbaz Sharif claimed that over the past 16 months, his PDM government did not incarcerate any political opponents or subject them to harassment. Fact: The claim is misleading. Several prominent PTI figures, political opponents of PDM, were […]
Claim: A viral image shows that the FIA raid in Shaukat Khanum Hospital recovered 260 million dollars in foreign currencies including dollars, pounds, and riyals. Fact: The viral image is from a raid of a Mexican drug lord’s luxury home in March 2007. On 3 September 2023, a Twitter (now X) user (@Drsamina19) shared an […]
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: A picture shows Imran Khan sporting a beard ahead of a court appearance. Fact: The image is digitally manipulated; Khan originally appeared clean-shaved in the picture in question. On 22 August 2023, the Instagram account @iloveimrankhan._ posted (archive) an image showing Imran Khan — the former prime minister and chief of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf […]
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 […]