Fake news of Afghan singer's death circulated in Bangladeshi media
Several Bangladeshi media outlets (1, 2, 3) recently published news about the alleged death of Afghanistan’s popular singer, Hasiba Noori, being shot dead in Pakistan. Social media platforms, including Facebook (1, 2, 3, 4), also spread the news of the singer’s demise. However, multiple sources have confirmed that the news of the singer’s death is not correct.
Citing references from Indian media (1, 2, 3, 4, 5), Bangladeshi media reported that the 38-year-old Afghan singer Hasiba was supposedly shot dead in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Over the past few days, misleading statements about Noori’s death have been circulating on social media. Some media and social media post even shared pictures of her in a hospital, further fueling the false news.
Pakistani journalist Iftikhar Firdous stepped in to clarify the situation and shared a screenshot of a video call with Noori on Twitter, asserting that the news of her death was baseless.
In another tweet, he confirmed that he had spoken to the Afghan singer, who is safe and alive in Karachi. He explained that the picture being circulated was taken during a medical procedure, where Noori was unconscious due to anaesthesia. The cotton stuffed in her nose was to stop excessive nose bleeding from a head injury.
Furthermore, an Afghan journalist named Salih Mohammed Salih posted a video of Noori on his verified Facebook account where the singer can be heard speaking in Dari and Pashto, further confirming her well-being.
Numerous fact-checking organisations in Pakistan have already verified the claim and identified the news as fake. Additionally, Afghanistan-based media outlet AMU TV also published the news of Hasiba Noori being alive on its Facebook page.
Hasiba Noori, the 38-year-old singer, gained fame through her reforming of traditional Pashtun folk songs and appeared on various Afghan channels such as Ariana Television and AMC TV. She mesmerised audiences with songs like ” “Mina”, “Sabza Janam” and “Ala Yaram.”
