Prime Minister Imran Khan on World Press Freedom Day tweeted a verse from the Holy Quran in what seemed to be a warning against the dissemination of fake news.
Imran shared a verse which translates as: “And mix not truth with falsehood, nor conceal the truth while you know (the truth).”
For those who keep spreading fake news: pic.twitter.com/e2ccNIKrTn
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) May 3, 2019
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government has taken an active and aggressive stance against cracking down on suspected fake news during its eight months in power, even creating a Fake News Buster Twitter account to share stories it claims are ‘fake’.
Some of the news reports that the Fake News Buster has dismissed as fake have included one on a major cabinet reshuffle including then finance minister Asad Umar, the transfer of the Islamabad IGP after a run-in with minister Azam Swati, and a report on PTI operating 18 undeclared bank accounts, raising questions over the account’s accuracy in highlighting such reports.