Claim: An image on social media shows a protest against rising terrorism in Lakki Marwat in April 2023. Fact: The claim is misleading. The image is from Swat and not the Lakki Marwat area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). On 29 April 2023, Pakistani journalist Imran Riaz Khan posted an image on Twitter with the Urdu […]
Claim: A Whatsapp image shows an ARY News headline claiming Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud, the chief of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), has been killed in a drone strike in Afghanistan. Fact: The image is not authentic and the claim has not been confirmed by any credible sources. Local journalists and sources have denied the news of […]
Claim: A Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) press release says all political parties should vote for PTI in upcoming elections in Punjab and KP. Fact: The claim is false; the TTP has not expressed support for a PTI-led government. TTP’s statement says they will not target political rallies, parties, processions, and polling stations during the upcoming general […]
Claim: A social media video shows Baloch students chanting and demanding freedom from Pakistan. Fact: The claim is false. The video is from the University of Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where students protested against the ban on women’s education in Afghanistan. On 10 January 2023, a Twitter account posted a video with the caption, “We demand […]
Claim: Social media posts claim that Pakistani forces launched air strikes against the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in the Nangarhar province of Afghanistan. Fact: The claim is false. Pakistan’s Foreign Office denied the attacks; similarly, the Taliban have not confirmed any air strikes by Pakistan. On 5 January 2022, a Twitter page Regional Security Advisory posted […]
Claim: Pakistan is shutting down its consulate in Kandahar, Afghanistan, to protest against the Taliban government. Fact: The official Twitter account of the Consulate General of Pakistan, Kandahar, was hacked on 2 December 2022. The hacked account tweeted the false claim that the consulate would shut down for two days to protest against the Taliban […]
Claim: An image of a woman with facial scars is being shared on social media with captions that claim she survived a recent suicide attack at a tuition center in Kabul, Afghanistan. Fact: The claim is false. The woman in these images was actually a victim of a suicide attack on TV workers in Kabul […]
Claim: Bashar Noorzai was released in a prisoner exchange from Guantanamo Bay. Fact: Bashar Noorzai was charged with drug trafficking in New York, after which he remained in federal custody in the United States. Fact or Fiction? Believed to be a close aide to Taliban founder Mullah Muhammad Omar and a key financer of the […]
Claim: A video shows people raising the national flag of Afghanistan on a pedestrian bridge in Karachi’s Sohrab Goth neighbourhood during recent ethnic riots that flared up following the murder of Sindhi youth Bilal Kaka during a quarrel at a hotel. Fact: The video is in fact from August 2021 and shows people in Afghanistan’s […]
Claim: A video shared on social media shows people crying in the aftermath of an earthquake that struck Afghanistan in June 2022. Fact: The video was shared by multiple media outlets in 2021 and shows the Taliban celebrating after the withdrawal of the United States from Afghanistan. On 23 June 2022, a video was shared […]
Claim: News websites claim Anas Haqqani is Norway’s most wanted terrorist Fact: Anas Haqqani is not Norway’s most wanted terrorist. On 25 January 2022, a delegation of the Afghan Taliban visited Oslo, following which several news websites ran stories with the headline, “Norway shocked as its most wanted terrorist Anas Haqqani lands in Oslo.”This headline […]
Claim: A video doing the rounds on social media depicts the Taliban destroying mobile phones in Afghanistan. Fact: The video is not of the Taliban destroying mobile phones in Afghanistan but of Pakistan Customs’ officers destroying smuggled and contraband goods at a destruction ceremony in Karachi. Fact or Fiction: On 13 January 2022, Facebook page […]