The following report was originally published by AFP Fact Check, a blog that focuses on fact-checking in response to the multiplication of misinformation and disinformation online.
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Posts that have been shared tens of thousands of times on Facebook and Twitter contain video and photographs they claim show a police officer who was murdered for speaking out about police corruption after a deadly fake encounter in Sahiwal.
The claims are false; the images have no connection to the Sahiwal raid, and the police officer has not been killed.
The Facebook posts, for example this one which has been viewed 13,000 times since it was posted January 25, 2018, combine a video of a policeman speaking about alleged corruption in Sahiwal with a video of a dead body, and claim the policeman has been killed.
The unidentified policeman in the video is saying in Punjabi: “Mr Chief Minister, Inspector General Punjab and all law enforcement agencies. My life is in danger because of evidence I have against DPO (District Police Officer) Sahiwal.”
The second video then shows a dead body lying in a pool of blood.
The Facebook post’s caption says: “Shocking!! This is the Justice system in Pakistan. A policeman, who had publicly claimed to have evidence against the officials & was fearful about his life, is brutally murdred. Hope New CJP take notice #JusticeAsifSaeedKhosa.”
The hashtag refers to Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosa.
The video was also shared on Twitter here where it has been viewed 42,000 times since it was posted January 25, 2019.
Here is another similar post, which contains still images taken from the same two videos, and has been shared 322 times since it was posted January 25, 2019.
The post's caption says: "The policeman who witnessed the Sahiwal tragedy is also murdered."