A satirical piece about Prime Minister Imran Khan reading the coronavirus chart 'upside down' and declaring that the curve has flattened in Pakistan was published as a 'shocking' news report by Indio-Asian News Agency Service (IANS). The satirical piece was published on satire website The Dependent, which was later picked up as actual news by news agency IANS and subsequently carried by media outlets like Newsd and Outlook.
The IANS report was titled 'Imran Khan reads chart upside down, claims Covid curve flattening'. The report claimed that Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan pulled a buffoonery, and claimed that the coronavirus curve in the country was flattening while in reality, he read the chart upside down.
The IANS report was later carried by news outlets like Newsd and Outlook. The latter realised that it was a misunderstanding and took it down. The article was published by Aarti Singh Tikoo’s, who is the Foreign and Strategic Affairs Editor at IANS, with a byline of her own. The report claimed that Khan while holding a chart of the coronavirus cases in the country said, “See, it’s right there. The cases seem to be tapering to a flat line.”
It further stated, “However, a political aide Saleem Kheshgi, noticing that the Prime Minister had goofed up, quickly whispered something into his ear. Khan’s mood changed quickly, Pakistan Today reported.” It may be noted that the report cites Pakistan Today.
Later, Aarti took to Twitter and apologised for the honest mistake. She also said that there a lot of Indian journalists that 'peddle' with propaganda against Pakistan on a daily basis and not apologise for it.
https://twitter.com/AartiTikoo/status/1258599569245392897?s=20
The IANS report was titled 'Imran Khan reads chart upside down, claims Covid curve flattening'. The report claimed that Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan pulled a buffoonery, and claimed that the coronavirus curve in the country was flattening while in reality, he read the chart upside down.
The IANS report was later carried by news outlets like Newsd and Outlook. The latter realised that it was a misunderstanding and took it down. The article was published by Aarti Singh Tikoo’s, who is the Foreign and Strategic Affairs Editor at IANS, with a byline of her own. The report claimed that Khan while holding a chart of the coronavirus cases in the country said, “See, it’s right there. The cases seem to be tapering to a flat line.”
It further stated, “However, a political aide Saleem Kheshgi, noticing that the Prime Minister had goofed up, quickly whispered something into his ear. Khan’s mood changed quickly, Pakistan Today reported.” It may be noted that the report cites Pakistan Today.
Later, Aarti took to Twitter and apologised for the honest mistake. She also said that there a lot of Indian journalists that 'peddle' with propaganda against Pakistan on a daily basis and not apologise for it.
https://twitter.com/AartiTikoo/status/1258599569245392897?s=20