• June 25, 2020
• Social Media

Refuting a recently published media report titled ‘How PTA’s Corporate VPN ban could cripple small IT businesses and startups’, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority has clarified that contrary to the news item, legitimate users can easily register their VPNs, through their service providers, without any charges.  The report published in Profit Magazine of Pakistan Today on […]

• June 24, 2020
• Social Media

LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) will reportedly ban the use of social media during the upcoming England series and direct the players to shun approaches by the unknown individuals in order to avoid any unpleasant event during the tour. Pakistan is scheduled to play against England in three Tests and three Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is), with […]

• June 16, 2020
• Social Media

KARACHI: Internet users in Pakistan will be unable to browse the web using encryption software after June 30, unless they register Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) with the telecom authorities. In a press release dated June 10 and newspaper advertisements, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has invited customers using VPNs to browse the internet to register […]

• June 15, 2020
• Social Media

LAHORE: The Punjab University Institute of Administrative Sciences has carried out a research stressing the government to increase its social media presence for citizens’ online participation in its various programmes. The research titled “Can government’s presence on social media stimulate citizens’ online political participation — investigating the influence of transparency, trust, and responsiveness — was […]

• June 12, 2020
• Social Media

meeting on Thursday discussed matters of fake videos and rumours being circulated about former president Asif Ali Zardari and implementation on the committee’s report regarding payment to PTCL pensioners. The meeting was held under the chairmanship of Senator Rubina Khalid at the Parliament House. The chair noted that till the time proper punishments were given […]

• June 11, 2020
• Social Media

A screenshot of a fake news story doctored to look like an article on Dawn.com surfaced on social media on Wednesday. The fake screenshot, shared on Twitter, attempts to mislead the public by suggesting that a Pakistan Air Force (PAF) F-16 fighter jet has gone ‘missing’ during a ‘panic situation’ in Karachi. The fake screenshot — widely […]

• June 9, 2020
• Social Media

A video of Shahbaz Gill, special assistant to the prime minister on political communication, in which he is seen criticising the colossal Chinese investment arriving in Pakistan amid the much-debated $62 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has attracted major flak on social media. Chinese investment on CPEC projects, part of Beijing’s ambitious Belt and Road […]

• June 6, 2020
• Social Media

KARACHI: Eminent writer Anwar Maqsood has said that he has nothing to do with the social media account that’s being run in his name from where statements and sentences against the PTI and on some important subjects are posted on a regular basis. In that regard, he has reached the relevant authorities to inquire into […]

• May 29, 2020
• Social Media

KARACHI: In a bid to deepen its presence in the Pakistan market, Facebook has initiated its first Authorized Sales Partner (ASP) programme in the country. According to sources, Httpool, Viral Edge, East River, and Starcrest Communications have been shortlisted for the programme, with network agencies intentionally left out to limit platform abandonment. As an extension […]

• May 27, 2020
• Media Ethics, Social Media

ISLAMABAD: Many people on social media spent second day of Eid discussing that where Prime Minister Imran Khan has celebrated Eid. A news item run at a TV channel’s website tried to resolve the riddle. “Prime Minister [Imran Khan] was photographed while walking in Nathiagali Monday morning. He is spending the Eid holidays with his […]

• May 23, 2020
• Social Media

Social media platforms have connected the world in digital space and allowed everyday people, even in far-flung rural villages, to see what is happening around them. It has also allowed its users to manipulate the information and circulate information and opinion broadly based on their individual will. Though it has given the opportunity to the […]

• May 21, 2020
• Social Media

KARACHI: Facebook widely helping the Non Government Organisation (NGOs) to spread their services among the needy and underprivileged people. According to a study, 43 percent of Pakistan’s citizens remain food insecure and 18 percent face an acute food shortage. This implies that, on any given day, almost 39 million Pakistanis are unaware of where their […]

• May 19, 2020
• Social Media

KARACHI: While the world observed Telecommunication and Information Society Day on Sunday (May 17), social networking site Twitter was inaccessible to users in Pakistan for almost two hours. The platform’s website, app and video streaming service Periscope were inaccessible across the country from around 10pm till 1.30am, with news feeds refusing to refresh. Despite this, […]

• May 18, 2020
• Social Media

Popular social networking site, Twitter, was down in Pakistan, from a little after 10pm on Sunday. Despite this, #TwitterDown was the top trend in the country. Internet blockage observatory NetBlocks confirmed the disruption to Twitter and Periscope “with multiple impact to multiple networks”. A screengrab of the information tweeted by NetBlocks. In a later tweet, […]