Current Final

Category: Fact Check

  • Fact-check: Is PM Shehbaz Sharif’s UN address the most watched on the UN’s YouTube channel?

    Fact-check: Is PM Shehbaz Sharif’s UN address the most watched on the UN’s YouTube channel?

    The government on Monday, shared a picture on the Instagram page ‘govtofpakistan’ which claimed that Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif’s United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) speech got more views than any world leader on the official YouTube channel of the UN.

    The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said that PM Shehbaz Sharif’s speech was watched by 137,000 viewers on the UN’s official channel.

    Speaking at a press conference in Islamabad, Federal Minister of Broadcast and Information Attaullah Tarar, while declaring the success of Pakistan’s foreign policy, said, “Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s address was most watched at the UN General Assembly.”

    Is this claim true?

    On the YouTube channel of the United Nations, Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif’s address has not remained on top in terms of views, rejecting the Pakistan government’s claims of the most-watched premier at the UN.

    Shehbaz has 179,000 views on the UN’s official YouTube channel so far since it was uploaded on September 28.

    Meanwhile, Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu was watched 212,000 times and remains on top in terms of views on YouTube.

    The President of the United States (US), Joe Biden, has a total of 110,000 views so far, since it was uploaded on September 22.

    President of Iran, Masoud Pezeshkian’s address has 152,000 views on the UN’s YouTube official channel.


    Furthermore, the address of the President of Palestine, Mahmoud Abbas, has 58,000 views.

    At the time the claim was made, Netanyahu had more views than Shehbaz on the UN’s YouTube channel. Journalist Mansoor Ali Khan also revealed this information on his YouTube channel.

  • PTI supporters share old rally picture to claim Lahore rally success

    PTI supporters share old rally picture to claim Lahore rally success

    In an interesting development yesterday, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supporters shared old pictures of the party rally on social media, alleging that the September 21 Lahore rally was successful.

    Many users pointed out that the images being shared by PTI-affiliated accounts are from the 2022 PTI rally and not yesterday.

    Journalists, including Sabir Shakir, Tariq Mateen, and Ihtisham ul Haq, shared misleading pictures yesterday claiming that the recent PTI rally has been a political success for the party.

    Ihtisham later deleted the picture when he was called out for sharing a fake image.

    Interestingly, AFP did a fact-check of a similar matter when PTI-affiliated accounts shared pictures from a 2022 rally to falsely claim that the September 8 rally in Islamabad had a huge number of people.

    PTI has conducted two rallies in the country despite immense difficulties including road closures and detention of party workers since the party founder termed the Lahore rally a “do or die” matter.

  • False claims link bailed Mahal Baloch to BLA suicide attacker

    False claims link bailed Mahal Baloch to BLA suicide attacker

    A series of violent attacks took place on August 26 in Balochistan, including a suicide attack by the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) in Lasbela.

    The BLA identified one of the bombers as Mahal Baloch in the attack on the Frontier Corps (FC) camp.

    On social media, people linked her to a recently bailed woman named Mahal Baloch, who was alleged to have possessed a suicide jacket.

    Geo Fact Check has reported that these claims are false.

    The confusion stems from two Baloch women having the same names.

    Imran Baloch, the lawyer for the bailed Mahal Baloch, told Geo Fact Check that his client is from Turbat and is alive, while the suicide attacker was from Gwadar, a coastal area of Balochistan.

    Baloch, a 30-year-old widow with two children, was charged with carrying a suicide jacket, which she vehemently denied, according to Imran.

    On May 10, 2023, she was granted bail by the two-judge bench of the Balochistan High Court.

    Moreover, the lawyer has revealed pictures of the two women, proving that they have no resemblance and are, thus two different people.

    On August 26, the Majeed Brigade, a faction of the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), carried out multiple attacks, resulting in seventy-three casualties.

  • Fact-Check: Has Google changed Adiala Jail’s name to Imran Khan Jail?

    Fact-Check: Has Google changed Adiala Jail’s name to Imran Khan Jail?

    Social media is packed with posts claiming that Google Maps has labelled Rawalpindi’s Central Jail aka Adiala Jail as ‘Imran Khan Jail’.

    On July 25, a user on X (formerly Twitter) claimed that Google had changed the name of Adiala Jail (where former Prime Minister Imran Khan is detained) to show its association with the PTI head. The post included a screenshot allegedly showing the jail’s location with the caption “Adiala Jail (Imran Khan).”

    This post has been viewed nearly three lakh times, reposted 6,800 times and liked 19,000 times.

    What is the reality?

    Information technology experts have debunked the claims and confirmed that Google Maps has not named Adiala Jail after the former prime minister.

    Asad Baig, executive director and founder of Media Matters for Democracy (MMFD), an Islamabad-based non-profit organization working for media literacy and development, told Geo Fact-Check that the online claims were “false” and Google doesn’t take political positions.

    Asad added, “Google Maps relies on various methods for labelling sites. One of which is user-generated labels or ‘user contributions’. Often, individual users may send misleading or incorrect information, which other users can correct by using the ‘report a problem’ feature.”

    Google’s response:

    A response from Google following the report’s publication on August 5 explained that users can provide information in Google Maps. The platform’s automated systems and trained operators monitor suspicious behaviour and their policies and act to remove any infringing content quickly.

    Google further clarified that the “incorrect name” in question has been removed, and safeguards implemented on the listing to prevent additional edits that violate the policy.

    This indicates that Google itself did not change the name of Adiala Jail to “Imran Khan Jail”.

  • FACTCHECK: Did Umair Jaswal really say, ‘Mera aur Khawar Maneka ka gham aik jaisa hai’?

    FACTCHECK: Did Umair Jaswal really say, ‘Mera aur Khawar Maneka ka gham aik jaisa hai’?

    On Sunday, Neo News posted an article with the title “Mera aur Khawar Maneka ka gham aik jaisa hai: Umair Jaswal”. Later, they deleted the article as singer-cum-actor Umair Jaswal explained that a fake X account with his identity appeared on social media after his former wife Sana Javed married cricketer Shoaib Malik.

    Umair Jaswal also confirmed in his Instagram stories that multiple posts were going viral on social media from unverified and fake accounts.

    The tweets from a fake account with the name @ImairJs were going viral. In one of the tweets, the poster, pretending to be Jaswal, compared himself with the former husband of former first lady Khawar Maneka.

    The famous singer also confirmed that his X (previously Twitter) account has a different user name, @umairjaswal.

    On Saturday, famous cricketer Shoaib Malik posted photos of his wedding with actress Sana Javed.

    Since Sana and Malik had worked together in the past, when the cricketer acted as a model and walked on the ramps, fans believed the earlier images were from one of those photoshoots. However, confirmation of their marriage came from family sources and Malik’s social media post.

  • Fact Check: Did Damon Imani actually tell World Economic Forum to f*** new world order?

    Fact Check: Did Damon Imani actually tell World Economic Forum to f*** new world order?

    A video circulating on the internet featuring Damon Imani allegedly hurling swear words at Klaus Schwab-Chairperson of the World Economic Forum-during the 2024 Davos Meeting, has sparked curiosity among netizens. The video claims that “A new WEF participant does the unthinkable at the 2024 Davos Meeting.” However, the video is satirical and the incident did not occur in reality.


    The video of Damon Imani was released at a time when the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting held in 2024 brought together nearly 3,000 global leaders from over 125 countries to discuss the challenges and crises the world faces.


    Imani is an Iranian producer and artist based in Denmark. Specializing in creating video content covering a range of topics, including societal issues, news, and current events, Imani is known for his satirical approach.


    The video in question is an edited one shared by Imani. He even posted on X, “Satire but true. This video is also available on Rumble here and Klaus Schwab can go f*** himself.” As social media users came across the viral video, some of them jokingly wished that it had really happened.


    The comedian also shared a series of videos where he was apparently calling out the leadership of WEF and people appreciated him for speaking his heart out. He shared a message he received from USA Today to verify if the video is real and how people are responding to it. He replied that actually people understood the meaning of his message which was that the “World Economic Forum is a global communist party that is not elected by the people of Earth.”

  • Fact check: Did Bangladeshi fans beat Shakib-al-Hassan at the airport?

    Fact check: Did Bangladeshi fans beat Shakib-al-Hassan at the airport?

    Bangladesh cricket team captain Shakib al Hassan is once again the center of news. A video is going viral on social media where Shakib can be seen being manhandled by Bangladeshi fans at the airport.

    Social media analysis:

    According to social media users, Shakib is getting hate from fans due to the poor performance of the team in the ODI World Cup 2023, where they managed to win only two matches out of nine.

    X (former Twitter) user posted, “Bangladeshi fans were angry with Shakib Al Hasan, and they tried to confront him upon his return to Bangladesh after a poor World Cup campaign.

    Fans were also angry about the controversial call for a time-out that Shakib raised on Angelo Mathews.

    Bangladesh managed to take the 8th spot in the World Cup and make their place in the Champions Trophy 2025 which will be hosted by Pakistan.

    Reality:

    This video was actually from a commercial event in Dubai. Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan was manhandled during this event, where fans were trying to take selfies with him while some of them also pulled him by his collar after which he almost fell over.

    This video was posted on the Facebook page ‘Time Now’ on March 11, 2023, with the caption “WATCH! Bangladeshi Cricketer Shakib Al Hasan Was Surrounded by Hundreds as He Attacked His Fan”.

  • Viral video about Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib is actually from four kilometres away

    Viral video about Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib is actually from four kilometres away

     A video going viral on the other side of the border shows a group dancing at what seems to be an event. The video was spread in India with claims that liquor and meat were served at the event in the Gurdwara Sahib. It is to be noted that meat and alcohol are strictly prohibited in Sikhism and their use is considered against the Sikh protocol. Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib is the second most holiest place for Sikhs around the world for it is believed that Guru Nanak breathed his last here.

    General Secretary, Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, Jagdip Singh Kahlon called it “unacceptable”. A number of publications also posted the video quoting statements from BJP leaders like Manjinder Singh Sirsa condemning the incident.

    Reputable Journalist Shiraz Hassan debunked the news as “totally false news”. He goes on to elaborate, “The event venue was at least 4KM away from Srri Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara – the whole area is known as Kartapur and the event was organized in Doda village!”

  • Fact-check: Is Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen dead or alive?

    Fact-check: Is Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen dead or alive?

    News about veteran Indian economist and Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen’s death started circulating on social media today.

    A social media post about Sen’s death that the Indian media was quoting was from Claudia Goldin’s X (formerly Twitter) account, which turned out to be a fake account.

    Claudia Goldin is an American economic historian and has been announced as the winner of the Nobel Prize Economics for this year.

    Sen’s daughter took to X and tweeted:

    “Friends, thanks for your concern but it’s fake news: Baba is totally fine. We just spent a wonderful week together w/ family in Cambridge—his hug as strong as always last night when we said bye! He is teaching 2 courses a week at Harvard, working on his gender book—busy as ever!”

    Seema Chishti, Editor The Wire, corrected the misinformation, clarifying that Sen is very much alive.

    Other accounts also corrected the misinformation being spread about Sen’s death.

  • Fact Check: Did the Army Chief say ‘No political party is sincere with Pakistan?’

    Fact Check: Did the Army Chief say ‘No political party is sincere with Pakistan?’

    On Sept 4, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Syed Asim Munir pledged unwavering efforts to attract foreign investment and rejuvenate the economy during an extensive meeting with members of the business community. In the meeting, he engaged openly and candidly with them.

    The controversy started when a renowned businessman Zubair Motiwala appeared in Nadeem Malik’s program on Samaa TV and said during the live show that the Army Chief said that no political party is sincere with Pakistan. Motiwala was unable to complete his statement as his line was disconnected. A clip of his statement went viral online soon after.

    Today, senior journalist and anchorperson Saleem Safi took to X (formerly Twitter) and said that his sources have revealed that the Army Chief did not said anything like this. He stated that the Chief’s actual words were, “Every political party has good and bad people.”

    The Current reached out to Safi to get a confirmation about his tweet. He said that he confirmed with three people who were present at the meeting that the statement was not said. He said that ISPR also confirmed that the statement was not said by the Army Chief. He also predicted that Motiwala would clarify his statement himself in a few hours.