Claim: A photo being shared on social media shows Russian President Vladimir Putin watching the news of the Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) victory in the recent by-elections in Punjab, Pakistan. Fact: The photo doing the rounds on social media is doctored. It is actually from 26 January 2022 when Putin held a meeting with […]
Claim: Startup Pakistan shared a post claiming that the Pakistani government is selling a 100% stake in several state-owned companies, namely Pakistan International Airlines, Pakistan State Oil, Sui Southern Gas Company, Sui Northern Gas Pipelines, Oil & Gas Development Company, and Pakistan Petroleum. An article linked in the post further states that the government repealed […]
Claim: Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif has publicly endorsed a “soft intervention” in the country by the Pakistan Army and has said that if a soft intervention can lead to any sort of benefit to the country, then he is ready to accept it. Fact: Capital TV spread a false headline claiming that Prime […]
Claim: Journalist Imran Riaz Khan is collecting donations online to help disabled people in Pakistan. Fact: Imran Riaz Khan’s Twitter account was hacked and a PayPal scam was shared through a tweet. The journalist uploaded a video warning people not to interact with his account or make any donations. On 30 July 2022, journalist Imran […]
Claim: A viral video shows people celebrating in Sialkot after the Pakistan Supreme Court announced on 26 July 2022 that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidate Pervez Elahi would be the new Chief Minister of Punjab. Fact: The video surfaced on social media in January 2022 and depicts new year celebrations in Sialkot. The video is not […]
Claim: An image shared on social media on 14 July 2022 shows a huge crowd at a rally held by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in Multan, Punjab, where party chief and former Prime Minister Imran Khan addressed his supporters. A poster with an image of Khan, former Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, and Shah Mehmood […]
Claim: Former Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan wrote a tweet asking former Prime Minister Imran Khan to call for public protests if it appears that local elections are being rigged to stop people voting for the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). Fact: The account responsible for the tweet appears to be impersonating Nisar. No such tweet […]
Claim: Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif has announced his resignation and will be dissolving the country’s assemblies. Fact: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has made no such announcement. On 18 and 19 January 2022, several pages shared videos on Facebook with different variations of the caption, “شہباز شریف نے نئے الیکشن کی تاریخ دیدی اور […]
Claim: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) won the recent by-election in Swat by defeating a “13-party coalition of PDM [Pakistan Democratic Movement] single handedly”. Fact: There were four candidates in the Swat by-election, including one each from the PTI, the Awami National Party (ANP), and the Tehreek-e-Inqelab Political Movement (TiPM), as well as an independent. The […]
Claim: In a viral video, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif can be heard calling for protest against his own government. Fact: Sharif’s 27 March address to his followers in the context of the Mehngai Mukao March was doctored to make it seem like the PM criticised his own government. On 18 and 19 June 2022, a […]
Claim: Official PTI handles, digital media outlets, and think tanks have uploaded congratulatory messages to their social media pages claiming Pakistan has been removed from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list. Grey list-designated countries are those which are required to make commitments to take stronger measures against the financing of criminal activities such […]
Claim: A video shows Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan meeting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi while Khan was in power. Fact: The video in question is from December 2015 when Khan and Modi met in Delhi. Khan was not Pakistan’s prime minister at the time. Fact or Fiction? On 5 June 2022, Facebook user […]