Claim: A new financial emergency notification has been issued for the country on 20 December 2022 by the Cabinet Secretariat.
Fact: The notification has been debunked by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting fact-check Twitter handle.
On 20 December 2022, a financial emergency notification purported to be issued by the Cabinet Secretariat was widely circulated online. The notification, which was shared dozens of times on Twitter, lists severe austerity measures such as suspending some pensions, medical treatments, leaves for emergencies or study, and some regular salary increments for government employees.
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check found the notification to be fake. Through a reverse image search, we found that the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has released a statement on their fact check Twitter handle, @FactCheckerMoIB, declaring the notification to be false. The handle, although not verified on Twitter, is also available on their government website, which shows the government of Pakistan runs it. The page states, “This is an official web page of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting for exposing fake news. Our official Twitter handle is @FactCheckerMoIB.” They urge the public not to disseminate or believe the fake notification.
Virality
Soch Fact Check conducted a CrowdTangle analysis for the 10-day period from 20 December 2022 to 29 December 2022 using the following search terms:
- “Financial emergency” “Pakistan”
- “Notification” “cabinet” “financial emergency”
On Facebook, we found posts here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
We also found tweets here, here, here, here, here, and here.
Conclusion: A purported government notification ordering a financial emergency went viral on social media. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting’s official statement serves as reliable evidence that the notification is fake.