Soch Fact Check is a project of Soch (www.sochmedia.org). Soch operates as a non-profit. Soch Fact Check is funded by the Directors of Green & White (Private) Limited, the parent company of Soch. Relevant information regarding the legal status of Green & White (Private) Limited may be found attached.

Relevant documentation on the legal status of its parent company, Green & White (Private) Limited has been provided, i.e. the incorporation certificate under Section 32 of the Companies Ordinance 1984 has been annexed with application. The legal status of Soch is unclear from the documentation as only the incorporation certificate for Green & White (Private) Limited has been provided, without any documentation/evidence of it being Soch’s parent company (this was a concern previously raised during Soch Fact Check's first assessment on 29.09.2020. However, as per the Terms and Conditions on the website, (available here: https://sochmedia.org/terms-and-condition/), there is an established link between Soch and Green & White (Private) Limited in the following terms: "Soch is an audio visual platform dedicated to raising awareness of political and social justice causes. The platform [including any website (s) and application (s)] is owned, organised, and operated by Green & White." Moreover, the banner at the bottom of the available website reads: "Copyright (c) 2020 Green & White." 

1) Soch Fact Check’s goal is to promote a culture of factual accuracy and journalistic integrity in a country where the news is not regarded as credible or trustworthy and public officials often make false statements without any accountability. Soch Fact Check was formed in December 2019. We launched our website and Twitter page on 10 January 2020 and published our first five fact checks on the same date. Our parent organization Soch (www.sochmedia.org), was set up in 2017 to make public interest news analysis accessible in English, Urdu and other regional languages. Soch was initially referred to the IFCN by Facebook.

2) Six people work for Soch Fact Check.

Zainab Husain is the Managing Editor.

Zainab Hamid is a Sub-editor.

Haseem us Zaman, Sameen Aziz, Hamna Baig and Nizamuddin Salarzai are fact-checkers.

Soch’s Advisory Board currently consists of two co-founders of our sister company Soch, Sofyan Sultan and Arafat Mazhar. They are not involved in the daily operations of Soch Fact Check, however, they are consulted for management and hiring decisions, as well as for technical and creative support.

3) Our organisation finds false and misleading news and writes comprehensive fact-check articles about these claims.

4) Our goals for the coming year are to publish at least 40 fact-check articles per month and expand to local languages. 

The requisite information has been provided. Further, the "About" page on the available website (https://sochmedia.org/about-soch/) lists names and designations of team members. A goal of 40 fact-check articles has been provided by Soch Fact Check but more information may be requested on its detailed activities. When previously assessed, Soch Fact Check had covered the areas of politics, science and culture in countering the spread of misinformation. Adequate documentation / links had been provided during the previous assessment on thirty three fact-checks conducted. Details of these fact-checks are available on:

i. http://www.sochfactcheck.com/category/politics/

ii. https://www.sochfactcheck.com/category/science/

iii. https://www.sochfactcheck.com/category/culture/

In the last six months, we have published over 200 fact checks, with at least one published every week. Last month (May 2022), we published 40 fact checks. 

Since its last assessment, the volume of fact-checks has clearly significantly increased (as evidenced in the web links shared above in response to 1.2), however, no documentation has been attached / annexed by the applicant to highlight the number or content of these fact-checks. Some of the recent fact-checks of significance, particularly considering the volatile political climate in Pakistan at this time, include the following:

i. https://www.sochfactcheck.com/us-embassy-in-pakistan-did-not-confirm-that-a-us-drone-accidentally-targeted-a-pakistan-army-helicopter/ (3 August 2022)

ii. https://www.sochfactcheck.com/fake-account-falsely-claims-that-cia-chief-told-biden-that-imran-khan-will-win-next-election/ (31 July 2022)

iii. https://www.sochfactcheck.com/nawaz-sharif-did-not-announce-political-split-with-asif-ali-zardari-in-light-of-supreme-court-decision/ (31 July 2022)

While going through its website, there are several new fact-checks since the last assessment, in particular in 2022. Further, the fact-checks seem to be regular and of the same quality.

- The fact-checks carried out are clear, detailed and informative.

- The format first identifies whether a claim is true, false or misleading (after which it is marked as such). Then, the claim is detailed, following which facts are provided on the claim. For example, Startup Pakistan had shared a post claiming that the Government of Pakistan is selling a 100% stake in several state-owned companies. The fact-check notes that the claims are "misleading" and provides detailed information and context in this regard. Links were provided on where the post had been shared and the fact-check even included the number of interactions for posts containing the misleading information. Similarly, in a fact-check carried out on 17 June 2022 (https://www.sochfactcheck.com/fatf-has-not-yet-removed-pakistan-from-the-grey-list/), a claim by a political party regarding Pakistan being removed from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list was marked as "misleading." Relying on information from the FATF website, Soch Fact Check found: "Pakistan has not yet been removed from the FATF grey list. According to its official website, the FATF will publish updates to Pakistan's grey list status in its June 2022 review, to be released on 17 June 2022 at 7:30 pm Berlin time." The detailed information provided is helpful in countering circulation of mis or disinformation in that the fact-check not only relies on authentic source information to verify claims, but also provides images / links to the misleading information and correct information.

- Other claims fact-checked are also issues of public importance (touching on sensitive issues, including civil-military relations, claims made by political parties, natural disasters/floods). For example, a viral image was doing the rounds on social media of a drowned baby allegedly from the province of Balochistan. Soch Fact Check details how it used Google Reverse Image search and contacted Rescue 1122 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province to ascertain the veracity of the claim. The page also provides images and screenshots of other means of verification that were utilized.The image was actually from River Kabul, Peshawar, as stated by Soch Fact Check.

- Soch Fact Check's detailed and well-sourced fact-checks are an important source of countering the widespread and rampant circulation of mis and disinformation on the economy, politics and other issues of public importance. 

Soch Fact Check does not have any commercial, financial or institutional relationship with the Pakistani state or any politicians or political parties in the country or any other country. We have not received any funding or support from foreign, local, state or political actors. 

While an explanation has been provided by the applicant establishing that it does not receive any of the mentioned forms of funding (foreign, local, state or political), no documentation in this regard has been attached. However, as per the requirements of what had been asked, a sufficient explanation has been provided.

Soch Fact Check does not receive funding from any local or foreign state or political sources. 

The applicant has categorically stated that it does not receive funding from any local, foreign, political or politically-affiliated sources.

Links:

1. https://www.sochfactcheck.com/miftah-ismail-did-not-say-families-should-share-one-roti-in-light-of-inflation/

2. https://www.sochfactcheck.com/video-of-police-firing-tear-gas-at-protestors-is-old-not-from-pti-protest/

3. https://www.sochfactcheck.com/people-did-not-chant-slogans-bilawal-bhutto-zardari-saudi-arabia-masjid-nabawi-incident/ 

4. https://www.sochfactcheck.com/video-of-imran-khan-meeting-modi-is-from-2015/ 

5. https://www.sochfactcheck.com/imran-khans-twitter-space-did-not-set-a-guinness-world-record/ 

6. https://www.sochfactcheck.com/the-government-has-not-increased-payments-under-the-ehsaas-program/ 

7. https://www.sochfactcheck.com/jahangir-tareens-tweet-warning-imran-khan-is-false/ 

8. https://www.sochfactcheck.com/posts-claiming-antibiotics-can-cure-cancer-are-misleading/ 

9. https://www.sochfactcheck.com/a-video-of-maulana-tariq-jameels-store-outlet-captures-another-clothing-store-next-to-it/ 

10. https://www.sochfactcheck.com/video-showing-china-artificial-sun-in-the-sky-is-actually-long-march-7a-rocket-launch/ 

(i) We use the same high standards of evidence for equivalent claims by maintaining best practices and adhering to the following format:

1) A picture of the claim or relevant to the claim along with a visual indication of the verdict. A red cross, yellow question mark or green tick will be prominent in the image thumbnail and the image in the article to indicate if the claim is false, misleading or true.

2) The headline includes the claim being fact-checked and a verdict of true or false.

3) Articles are researched and written by a fact-checker and reviewed twice by the sub-editor and the managing editor twice, in order to maintain coherent standards across all Soch Fact Checks.

4) Every article is formatted in the same way, starting with a short summary of the claim that is being fact-checked, followed by a short summary of the research and facts presented in the body of the article. The body of the fact check includes the source of the claim being discussed (News organisations, social media, notable personalities), an explanation about the primary and secondary sources we used to fact-check the claim (links are provided), and an explanation of how we reached our conclusion (an explanation of the fact-checking process for that particular claim and how we researched and confirmed/denied the specific claim including an explanation of any online tools we ma have used). This is followed by a section analysing the virality of the claim (using CrowdTangle) and the article ends with a brief summary of the claim and fact. 

(ii) How we follow the same essential process for every fact check and (iii) let the evidence dictate our conclusions:

-We check reliable local and global news websites and gather all information regarding the claim that is available online.

-We will contact the person or organization who made the claim or to whom the claim has been attributed. We provide details of all our primary sources and links to secondary sources. 

-If claims are made regarding government actions, we will contact politicians, government institutions, and other relevant officials.

-If a claim involves a regional language besides Urdu, English or Sindhi we will contact translators.

-If we cannot verify the information we need through online research and phone calls, we will go to the field and investigate further.

-If the claim is in the form of a dubious image or a video, or if a suspect claim is made regarding the source of an image of a video, we will attempt to ascertain the origin of the image or video by taking a close look at details such as billboards in the background to verify if the image/video was actually taken in the place that the claim states.

-We will also use tools such as Way Back Machine to access digital archives and Reverse Google Image Search to locate the source of an image and check if it has been doctored or altered. If we have used one of these tools in a fact check, we will mention it in our article so users can also fact-check the claim themselves. 

-The 10 links provided show that we fact-check all claims involving all mainstream political parties equally, using the same standard and processes.   

The fact-checks carried out by Soch Fact Check are clearly impartial and independent (various issues of public importance are addressed and no political leadership / set-up has been exempted from fact-check of false/misleading claims). The fact-checks all follow the same pattern and standard in a non-discriminatory manner. Interestingly, in field verification methods are also used by Soch Fact Check (for example, in the fact-check conducted on an image of a drowned child which went viral on social media, Soch Fact Check checked through multiple sources, including journalists and local authorities).

As mentioned in the link below, we focus on false claims that have the potential to go viral. We monitor Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp and traditional media platforms to find claims to fact check. We encourage readers to send claims for verification by emailing us at factcheck@sochvideos.com or through the ‘submit’ page. We also encourage readers to submit complaints and feedback about our fact checks. We analyse the reach of a claim through CrowdTangle.

We specifically keep an eye out for:

-Pakistan-specific content in local languages.

-Dubious claims that have the potential to go viral across platforms.

-Claims regarding vulnerable minority groups that have the potential to incite violence against those groups.

-Claims regarding individuals that may put their lives in danger.

-Claims that cast doubt on matters of scientific or historical consensus.

-Statements, speeches, and social media posts made by politicians and government officials that have the potential to impact public opinion.

-Trending hashtags on Twitter that might have been launched specifically to spread misinformation.

-Pictures and videos circulated through WhatsApp.

-Content submitted by users via Twitter or our website.

Link: https://www.sochfactcheck.com/methodology/

Detailed methodology is provided on the applicant's website for its fact-checking process: https://www.sochfactcheck.com/methodology/

The same and further details have been provided above by the applicant. Sources of information / means of verification utilised are adequately provided in its fact-checks and no partiality can be detected in its results. No opinions are provided in its fact-checks - only links to authentic source information, details on the verification process, images/screenshots of relevance, and links to the incorrect/misleading/false information.

A review of a large number of fact-checks published over the span of two years has been conducted. The same confirms the high / quality standard of review maintained by Soch Fact Check. While more recent fact-checks have been cited above, there are older fact-checks relating to issues of public importance available here:

- There was a viral video circulating on social media espousing harmful and incorrect stereotypes of Kalash people in Pakistan (who are already a minority community under threat). One of the dangerous claims circulated was that the Kalash Valley witnesses women openly commit adultery in public. Soch Fact Check examined the three false claims and noted that they constituted harmful disinformation and hate speech against the Kalasha community (https://www.sochfactcheck.com/viral-video-resurfaces-as-propaganda-against-kalasha-people/). A report of the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR), Pakistan's National Human Rights Institution (NHRI) founded in accordance with the Paris Principles, was cited by Soch Fact Check, highlighting the rights violations committed against the minority Kalasha community (including by tourists visiting the Kalash valley, who then believe this disinformation or misinformation and engage in inappropriate or discriminatory behaviour against the Kalasha).

- Another issue of public importance (relating to harassment and reprisals against survivors of sexual harassment) was fact-checked by the applicant on 16 December 2020 (https://www.sochfactcheck.com/no-meesha-shafi-has-not-been-found-guilty-of-running-a-smear-campaign-against-ali-zafar/). Interestingly, several mainstream "reputable" newspapers and TV channels had aired blatantly false information regarding an ongoing criminal trial. The claim was that the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had declared a Pakistani female singer and eight others "guilty" of running a smear campaign against a Pakistani male singer. Despite the fact that the FIA is not a court of law (and therefore, cannot rule on the guilt or innocence of parties to a dispute before it), this information was widely circulated and believed. Soch Fact Check clearly highlighted how the FIA does not have the jurisdiction to proclaim guilt and cited Section 3 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016 (PECA), under which the FIA was designated an investigation agency for offences under the Act. Highlighting briefly the facts of the case, Soch Fact Check provided important factual information in this regard. Lawyers were also contacted by Soch Fact Check (full disclosure: including myself) to obtain clarification on the status of the FIA.

- Similarly, in a fact-check conducted on 31 December 2021, it was clarified that the Election Commission of Pakistan had not cancelled the party registration of Jamaat-e-Islaami, a religious/conservative political party in Pakistan (https://www.sochfactcheck.com/election-commission-of-pakistan-has-not-canceled-party-registration-of-jamaat-e-islami/). A doctored image had been widely circulated of a notification in which the party's registration was allegedly cancelled. Soch Fact Check verified the information by reaching out to the Election Commission of Pakistan which denied issuance of the notification and stated that the image was "fake." 

A review of a large number of fact-checks published over the span of two years has been conducted. The same confirms the high / quality standard of review maintained by Soch Fact Check. While more recent fact-checks have been cited above, there are older fact-checks relating to issues of public importance available here:

- There was a viral video circulating on social media espousing harmful and incorrect stereotypes of Kalash people in Pakistan (who are already a minority community under threat). One of the dangerous claims circulated was that the Kalash Valley witnesses women openly commit adultery in public. Soch Fact Check examined the three false claims and noted that they constituted harmful disinformation and hate speech against the Kalasha community (https://www.sochfactcheck.com/viral-video-resurfaces-as-propaganda-against-kalasha-people/). A report of the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR), Pakistan's National Human Rights Institution (NHRI) founded in accordance with the Paris Principles, was cited by Soch Fact Check, highlighting the rights violations committed against the minority Kalasha community (including by tourists visiting the Kalash valley, who then believe this disinformation or misinformation and engage in inappropriate or discriminatory behaviour against the Kalasha).

- Another issue of public importance (relating to harassment and reprisals against survivors of sexual harassment) was fact-checked by the applicant on 16 December 2020 (https://www.sochfactcheck.com/no-meesha-shafi-has-not-been-found-guilty-of-running-a-smear-campaign-against-ali-zafar/). Interestingly, several mainstream "reputable" newspapers and TV channels had aired blatantly false information regarding an ongoing criminal trial. The claim was that the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had declared a Pakistani female singer and eight others "guilty" of running a smear campaign against a Pakistani male singer. Despite the fact that the FIA is not a court of law (and therefore, cannot rule on the guilt or innocence of parties to a dispute before it), this information was widely circulated and believed. Soch Fact Check clearly highlighted how the FIA does not have the jurisdiction to proclaim guilt and cited Section 3 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016 (PECA), under which the FIA was designated an investigation agency for offences under the Act. Highlighting briefly the facts of the case, Soch Fact Check provided important factual information in this regard. Lawyers were also contacted by Soch Fact Check (full disclosure: including myself) to obtain clarification on the status of the FIA.

- Similarly, in a fact-check conducted on 31 December 2021, it was clarified that the Election Commission of Pakistan had not cancelled the party registration of Jamaat-e-Islaami, a religious/conservative political party in Pakistan (https://www.sochfactcheck.com/election-commission-of-pakistan-has-not-canceled-party-registration-of-jamaat-e-islami/). A doctored image had been widely circulated of a notification in which the party's registration was allegedly cancelled. Soch Fact Check verified the information by reaching out to the Election Commission of Pakistan which denied issuance of the notification and stated that the image was "fake." 

Link: https://www.sochfactcheck.com/about-us/

Soch Fact Check is a non-partisan organization. We go to great lengths to objectively fact check claims made by all political parties regardless of ideology. Furthermore, each fact check is reviewed by at least 2 members of the Soch Fact Check team. This is to eliminate any possibility of personal biases and ensure that every fact is supported by hard, empirical evidence.

In addition, every member of the Soch Fact Check Team has signed a legally binding undertaking (affidavit) affirming that they will not donate to or participate in political campaigns or any other political party activities. Please find a copy of our affidavit attached. 

The applicant is neither affiliated with nor demonstrates any support for a particular party, politician or set-up. Its non-partisan nature is clearly seen in its varied fact-checks, covering different areas of public importance. The affidavit attached by the applicant, which is to be signed by all employees of the applicant, clearly stipulates that employees will not affiliate with or donate to any political party.

On the basis of the review of use of sources in a randomised sample of fact-checks, it is evident that the applicant's fact-checks satisfy the criteria listed above (including use of authentic / primary sources, verification through multiple sources, etc.). 

On the basis of the review of use of sources in a randomised sample of fact-checks (discussed above in great detail), it is evident that the applicant's fact-checks satisfy the criteria listed above (including use of authentic / primary sources, verification through multiple sources, etc.). 

On the basis of the review of use of sources in a randomised sample of fact-checks, it is evident that the applicant's fact-checks satisfy the criteria listed above (including use of authentic / primary sources, verification through multiple sources, etc.). 

Soch Fact Check is a distinct fact-checking project of Soch (www.sochmedia.org). Soch is a not for profit media platform that produces content in English, Urdu, and other South Asian regional languages. Soch is a venture of Green & White (Private) Limited, a private limited company registered and operating under the laws of Pakistan. The relevant registration and audit documents for Green & White (Private) Limited have been attached to our response to Criteria 1.1.

While the incorporation certificate for Green & White Pvt Ltd has been attached, audit and other documentation has not been attached (despite stating here that the same has been provided). Provision of this information may assist in further clarifying the status of Soch Fact Check. 

The incorporation certificate for Green & White Pvt Ltd has been attached. Information on sources of funding has also been provided upon request.

Soch Fact Check is a distinct fact-checking project of Soch (www.sochmedia.org). Soch is a not for profit media platform that produces content in English, Urdu, and other South Asian regional languages. Soch is a venture of Green & White (Private) Limited, a private limited company registered and operating under the laws of Pakistan. The relevant registration and audit documents for Green & White (Private) Limited have been attached to our response to Criteria 1.1.

In addition, the following link can be found in the footer of the Soch Fact Check website: https://www.sochvideos.com/privacypolicy . 

Adequate information on sources of funding has not been provided in any attached documentation. In fact, it would appear some documentation mentioned in responses (e.g. audit documents) is missing (perhaps some clerical error during file upload?)

Relevant documentation in this regard has been provided (originally and upon request). 

Link: https://www.sochfactcheck.com/about-us/ 

Adequate information in this regard has been provided here: https://www.sochfactcheck.com/about-us/

Link: https://www.sochfactcheck.com/about-us/ 

Adequate information has been provided by the applicant on the Advisory Board and employees, including their names, designations and backgrounds. However, additional information on the role beyond stating designations may also be requested for further clarity. 

Link: https://www.sochfactcheck.com/submit/ 

We encourage users to communicate with us via the submit tab or by emailing us at factcheck@sochvideos.com.

We also communicate with our readers through our Twitter and Instagram pages (@sochfactcheck).

Relevant link has been provided. 

Link: https://www.sochfactcheck.com/methodology/ 

Quality standard of fact-checking methodology (in detail) is provided here: https://www.sochfactcheck.com/methodology/

Through a comprehensive review of all fact-checks, it is clear that this standard is uniformly and consistently applied. 

Having assessed Soch Fact Check's previous application, as well as all the latest fact-checks since, it is clear that the applicant identifies claims on the basis of the detailed methodology laid out on its website (and detailed in previous sections above).

Having assessed Soch Fact Check's previous application, as well as all the latest fact-checks since, it is clear that the applicant identifies claims on the basis of the detailed methodology laid out on its website (and detailed in previous sections above). It is clear from the review conducted (of a large number of fact-checks published over the span of two years) that the latter are of a high quality/standard of review. It appears that in a large number of cases, Soch Fact Check reaches out directly to the source of information to verify authenticity. For example, in a fact-check conducted on 31 December 2021, Soch Fact Check mentions that it contacted the Election Commission of Pakistan to ascertain whether it had cancelled the party registration of Jamaat-e-Islaami (a religious/conservative political party in Pakistan). I do not believe that any contradictory information is provided within its fact checks - the fact-checks are thorough and clear. Often, after it reaches out to the source itself, Soch Fact Check also reviews relevant laws and consults experts to further strengthen its fact checks

We encourage users to send us claims to fact check through the submit tab on our page or by emailing us at factcheck@sochvideos.com. Users also submit claims to our Twitter page.

Link to submit tab: https://www.sochfactcheck.com/submit/ 

Link to Twitter page: https://twitter.com/SochFactCheck

The methodology tab on our website details the nature of the claims we will fact check.

Link to methodology tab: https://www.sochfactcheck.com/methodology/

Email, Twitter and another link on Soch Fact Check's website have been provided for submission of claims to fact-check:

i. factcheck@sochvideos.com

ii. https://www.sochfactcheck.com/submit/

iii. https://twitter.com/SochFactCheck

As the methodology tab provides relevant information on how claims are chosen for fact-checking, and a corrections policy has also been provided (https://www.sochfactcheck.com/methodology/), sufficient information in this regard is available on the applicant's website. Further, a separate hyperlink has been created for reporting Soch Fact Check for violations of the IFCN Code.

Link: https://www.sochfactcheck.com/methodology/ 

Link has been provided on the Methodology tab (https://www.sochfactcheck.com/methodology/), including for IFCN Code violations. 

No legitimate correction requests have been made so far. 

While more information can be provided on how the corrections policy operates in practice, non-provision of the same does not render the applicant non-compliant, as the relevant portion on the page reads that the article will be updated and that the correction will clearly be highlighted at the foot of the article.

As Soch Fact Check has mentioned that no "legitimate" correction requests have been made thus far, it may be useful to ask for a sample of requests received (for a more objective assessment).

We changed the headline of an article after publishing to more accurately reflect the contents of the article. We issued a correction at the end of the article, linked below.

https://www.sochfactcheck.com/person-seen-on-banner-not-killed-during-long-march/

The correction mentioned is clearly highlighted at the bottom of the article in bold. 

https://www.sochfactcheck.com/methodology/

The same has been provided: https://www.sochfactcheck.com/methodology/

https://www.sochfactcheck.com/methodology/

https://www.sochvideos.com/privacypolicy 

The applicant has provided relevant links for its Methodology and Privacy Policy (available here: https://www.sochfactcheck.com/methodology/ and https://www.sochvideos.com/privacypolicy)