MKRF Initiative: Geo Fact Check
Campaign: Geo Fact Check
Partners: Pakistan’s largest media group – Geo, Jang, and TheNews International.
August 2022
Geo FACT CHECK
Geo Fact Check is an MKRF fact-checking initiative, which is committed to fighting the spread of misinformation and disinformation on the social media.
MKRF extensively uses media for its advocacy and behavioral change campaigns. It believes in freedom of expression but also that reportage must be factual, transparent, and impartial. While accuracy and transparency of print and television content are verifiable with relative ease, and social media is replete with fake news.
MKRF has commissioned an extensive fact-checking initiative utilizing its strategic relationship with Pakistan’s largest media group – Geo, Jang, and TheNews International in August 2022. Branded Geo Fact Check, the initiative utilizes the extensive network of reporters and correspondents of the group (Geo & Jang Group has a reporter/correspondent every 9 Kilometers throughout Pakistan)
As a non-profit foundation originally setup by the owning family of Pakistan largest media group and because it uses the media group’s reach and influence in Pakistan to bring about paradigm change relating to public welfare and wellbeing, MKRF is deeply invested in freedom of press, transparency and ethics and factually accurate and non-partisan reporting in the print, television and social media. While print and television are relatively accountable for their reporting and it is easier to fact check and hold them responsible for their reporting, the social media is much less so.
For this purpose, MKRF has setup a Fact Check Unit comprising journalists from Geo, the Daily Jang and the News International. The MKRF fact checking initiative is branded ‘Geo Fact Check’ and utilizes their journalists, access and network to check the veracity of news that are viral on the social media.
During the past 12 months the ’Geo Fact Check’ unit of MKRF has investigated and check approximately 15 stories a month.
Geo Fact Check Stories English
Geo Fact Check Unit
- Organizational structure:
- Editor
- Sub-Editors
- Researchers
- Reporters
- Selection of stories:
There is a criterion for the selection of stories to be fact-checked. The criteria include the virality, amount of data, facts & figures, and other determinants:- The stories are of interest to or impact the welfare and wellbeing of individuals or the general public.
- The stories are extremely viral and therefore have to be checked because of the viral nature of the story.
- The selection of stories should be against the touch stone of public welfare and virality and completely non-partisan. They should be completely free of any political or other motivation and, by and large, conform to equi-distribution of subjects, people and geographic dispersion. If there is an over riding consideration, it must be that the stories should relate to the welfare of the general public.
- Staff members involved with selection and checking of stories – as well as all editorial staff – are cautioned on the selection criteria and a policy of complete non partisanship
- Editorial control:
Editorial control is exercised by the editors of the Fact Check Unit.
Benazir Shah Editor
Benazir Shah is the editor at Geo Fact Check.
Shah is an award-winning journalist, with over a decade of experience as a reporter and editor in the media. Her work has been published in Newsweek, Al Jazeera, Foreign Policy, Arab News and BBC Urdu, amongst other publications.
In 2013, Shah was awarded a gold medal by the United Nations Correspondents Association for her coverage of the polio campaign in Pakistan.
Fayyaz Hussain Senior Sub-Editor
Fayyaz Hussain is a senior sub-editor at Geo Fact Check.
He works closely with researchers, fact-checkers and Geo television reporters based across Pakistan.
Hussain has previously worked in various reporting and production roles in the media. He can be reached at [email protected]
Nadia Khalid Researcher
Nadia Khalid is a researcher at Geo Fact Check.
She has previously worked as a coordinator, researcher and producer for various television channels as well as a freelance writer in Pakistan.
She can be reached at [email protected]
Binyameen Iqbal Researcher
Muhammad Binyameen Iqbal is a researcher at Geo Fact Check.
Iqbal has experience working as a content writer, researcher and editor at several newspapers in the country.
He can be reached at [email protected]
Saman Amjad Researcher
Saman Amjad is a researcher at Geo Fact Check.
She has previously reported for Geo’s Election Cell.
She can be reached at [email protected]
Fact check process:
- Stories are firstly checked from primary sources mentioned in the story itself. We then rely on official or independent data, research and experts. We also check from officials who would be privy to the information needed.
- For photos and videos, we use advanced search tools such as Google Reverse Image, Reveye, Tineye, Bing, InVid, Exif etc. to determine the origin of viral videos or photographs.
- At times, a claim may be found to be true but misleading. In such a case we provide context to the readers.
MKRF Fact Check Unit “Geo Fact Check Unit” also works closely with a large number of reporters of Geo television, Daily Jang and the News International spread across Pakistan, who assist in verifying information talking to primary sources and getting access to court, government or public documents.
We encourages people to provide feedback. Please refer to us stories that you feel should be fact checked. Please send us your comments on stories fact check by us. We are open to making correction for any error or mistakes made by our fact check team. You may contact us at email
or for any claims, they might come across.
