Mumbai, May 8: The news that 'Imran Khan claimed that the coronavirus curve is flattening in Pakistan after reading the chart upside down' went viral on the internet. News agency IANS (Indo-Asian News Service) recently published a satire piece as actual news. The claims have been found to be false as it was an article written on a Pakistani satire website called The Dependent. Fact Check: Has Imran Khan Tested Positive For Coronavirus? Pakistan Government Clarifies on Fake News Going Viral.

LatestLY found that the news from the satire website was picked up IANS and has been published as actual news without giving any disclaimer of being a satire. The IANS media report read that Khan addressing a press conference announced on Wednesday, “We’ve finally managed to flatten the curve so that the public health setup could handle the crisis adequately, proving that our strategy of a smart lockdown has actually worked.” Holding a chart of the coronavirus cases in the country, Khan said, “See, it’s right there. The cases seem to be tapering to a flat line.”

Here's the Fake News:

Here's the Satire piece:

The article published by IANS has been picked up by various media outlets and they are being published as actual news. However, it is fake news as it is part of a satire piece. The journalist who picked up the news also apologised for the error on social media.

Fact check

Imran Khan Reads Chart Upside Down, Claims COVID-19 Curve Flattening? Satire Story Published as Actual News; Here's The Truth
Claim :

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said the coronavirus curve was flattening after he mistakenly read the curve upside down.

Conclusion :

Claims have been found to be false as it was an article written on a Pakistani satire website called The Dependent.

Full of Trash
Clean

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 08, 2020 11:11 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).