Dawn responds to a doctored headline
JournalismPakistan.com | Published: 31 August 2022
Join our WhatsApp channel
Dawn responded to a misleading screenshot of its article on the floods in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The incorrect headline falsely attributed blame for the floods, prompting a clarification.Summary
ISLAMABAD—Dawn has had to respond to a doctored screenshot of its story on the floods in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa shared widely on social media.
Dawn.com said it published the original story headlined 'Army called in as KP faces flood threat' on August 27.
However, the headline was changed to 'Flood in Pakistan is not due to Climate Change, but because people are not reading Quran.'
The paper said it was shared many times on Twitter and Facebook, primarily by accounts identifying themselves as Indian users.
Dawn pointed out that the font used in the false headline was different from what Dawn.com uses; it ends with a full stop and has some upper case alphabet, which was not the paper's style.
KEY POINTS:
- Dawn published a story on KP floods on August 27.
- A false headline circulated on social media, primarily by Indian accounts.
- Dawn highlighted inconsistencies in the font and style of the doctored headline.
- The misinformation suggested a connection to Quran reading and climate change.
- Dawn aims to clarify and prevent further spread of the fake news.
