(Disclaimer: this is a work of fiction. Learn to take a joke; you’ll live longer.)
TURIN/BARCELONA/PARIS – After a so-called fact check threatened to take away hard earned credit from then, global superstars of football Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Neymar Jr offered a fact cheque of their own.
Talking exclusively to The Dependent, the trio, while expressing their outrage, clarified that the photo that had been shared thousands of times on Facebook appearing to show three of the world’s top footballers handing Prime Minister Imran Khan a large cheque, purportedly to help build two new hydroelectric dams is actually original.
“The claim is neither false, nor is the image doctored,” Messi told The Dependent. “It’s a shame that all these outlets claiming to fact check didn’t bother to actually check facts, or fact cheques” the Barcelona forward added.
Paris Saint Germaine star Neymar Jr revealed that none of the trio had been contacted to verify the claims.
“Rule number one of journalism – at least get in touch with those you are trying to discredit,” the Brazilian said.
However, Ronaldo did reveal that some bits of the image from December 2018 have indeed been photoshopped.
“The only thing photoshopped is the face of the person we are giving the cheque to because we gave it to [former] Chief Justice Saqib Nisar,” the Juventus star said.
“After all, it’s the Chief Justice and Prime Minister Dam Fund, not Prime Minister and Chief Justice Dam Fund.”
