Foreign Office reacts to fake news attributed to minister

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published: 12 November 2018

The Foreign Office is taking steps against false news circulating on social media about Pakistan-Israel relations. They emphasized the importance of accurate reporting.

Summary

ISLAMABAD – The Foreign Office said Monday it was asking the Ministries of Interior and Information to look into accounts generating false news after one such item regarding Pakistan-Israel relations and attributed to the foreign minister was allegedly released by Express-News.

A media release from the spokesperson’s office said it would press the relevant ministries to take appropriate action as per law against those posting fake news on social media.

The release said that this news, circulating on the Internet, was retweeted by journalist Umer Cheema. “We got in touch with him, and he informed us that after realizing that it was fake news, he had deleted his tweet. Express News has also informed us that it was a fake news item, as all news items released by them have the news link posted along with the news.”

“It is expected that Mr. Cheema may also inform his followers that it was fake news and we hope and expect that all people, especially journalists, would be more careful in retweeting such malicious content,” the release said.

KEY POINTS:

• Foreign Office requests action against fake news generators.
• False news attributed to the foreign minister circulated online.
• Journalist Umer Cheema deleted his tweet after confirming the news was fake.
• Express News clarified their news items include relevant links.
• The Foreign Office urges greater caution among journalists in sharing information.