Claim: A picture shows the dead bodies of 13 people who died during the 2023 Hajj. Fact: The image dates back to at least 2017. On 10 July 2023, Facebook user ‘Ahmad Raza’ posted (archive) an image of multiple dead bodies, lined up in white cloth, inside what appears to be the Kaaba, or the […]
Claim: An image of Nawaz Sharif and King Muhammed Bin Salman is from Sharif’s Ramzan visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Fact: The image is from 2017, when Nawaz Sharif visited King Salman as the prime minister of Pakistan. On 21 April 2023, the Instagram account (@pakobserver) shared an image of King Salman of […]
Claim: Journalist Waqas (@worqas) has claimed in a Twitter thread that 4 million Burmese people living in Saudi Arabia will be given Pakistani passports. Fact: The claim is false. The passport agreement signed on the sidelines of the Road to Makkah Program aimed at simplifying immigration procedures for Pakistani pilgrims. It did not involve any […]
Claim: A viral WhatsApp message claims that Michael Jackson’s unreleased last song was about Hajj and that Saudi Arabia bought the rights from the US. Fact: Michael Jackson did not record this song, but Pakistani-Canadian singer Irfan Makki. It was uploaded on YouTube in 2012. The other claim that it was bought by Saudi Arabia […]
Claim: A picture depicts the April 2023 meeting between Nawaz Sharif and Muhammed bin Salman as the former visited Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah. Fact: Soch Fact Check found the image is from 2016 when the Saudi crown prince visited Pakistan and met Nawaz Sharif. The pictures and videos, although real, have been taken out […]
Claim: A screengrab of a television show suggests that the authorities in Saudi Arabia and Prince Mohammed Bin Salman have turned down former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s request for a meeting during his recent visit to the kingdom. Fact: The screengrab is doctored. Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb tweeted on 21 April 2023 that the Pakistan […]
Claim: Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz has died. Fact: Saudi King Salman has not died. A video accompanying the claim is actually an announcement of the death of his predecessor, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, in 2015. On 15 April 2023, Facebook page ‘pwdpi.com’ posted a video (archive) claiming that King Salman bin Abdulaziz […]
Claim: A Twitter post claims that it shows Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman greeting Nawaz Sharif at the airport. Fact: The claim is false. The picture is from 2016, when Sharif was prime minister and attended the North Thunder Exercise, a joint venture of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia military forces. On 11 April […]
Claim: A video shared on social media shows pilgrims criticising the current Pakistan government for providing “terrible” lodging facilities during Hajj 2022 in Saudi Arabia. Fact: The video is, in fact, from August 2019 and shows pilgrims criticising the government at the time for providing inadequate lodging facilities. On 1 July 2022, Facebook user Raja […]
Claim: A news clipping written in Urdu states that a man who was trapped in a desert in Saudi Arabia ate two of his wives. Fact: There is no truth to the report. It appears to be based on an English-language article published by a Canadian satirical outlet in 2019. The pictures included in that […]
Claim: A viral video shows Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and other members of the government inside the Masjid Nabawi in Medina, Saudi Arabia, with onlookers chanting the slogans, “Jiye Bhutto [Long live Bhutto]” and “Wazir-e-Azam Zindabad [Long live the prime minister].” Fact: Onlookers did not chant, ‘Jiye Bhutto’ during Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s visit to Medina. The […]
Claim: A photograph circulating online allegedly shows Imran Khan, his wife Bushra Khan, and a man labeled as Mrs. Khan’s ex-husband Khawar Maneka, performing Umrah at the Masjid al-Haram, the mosque that surrounds the Kaaba in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, at the state’s expense. Fact: The man in the photograph walking next to Imran Khan is […]