Claim: On June 2, in the federal capital Islamabad, 17-year-old TikToker Sana Yousaf, originally from Chitral, was shot and killed. Following the incident, various reports and claims related to it began circulating across news channels and social media platforms. One of Pakistan’s prominent news channels, @arynewsud, aired the story in its 6 PM bulletin with the headline: “Young TikToker Sana Yousaf’s killer was arrested within 20 hours.” Along with the news, an image of a young man was shown, identifying him as Sana Yousaf’s murderer. The image rapidly went viral on social media. A large number of users shared it and, assuming him to be the killer, severely criticized and insulted him.
Reality: After thorough investigation by our team, it was confirmed that the image was not of the actual culprit. In its rush to break the story, @arynewsud mistakenly broadcast the photo of the wrong individual. In fact, the image aired by @arynewsud was of a Facebook user named “Saji Rajput” (real name: Sajid Rajput). The photo had originally been uploaded by one of his friends, whose Facebook ID is “Black Listed Memer,” as a joke. The joke was taken seriously by the public, and the image went viral. Later, @arynewsud included the same image in their report without any verification, presenting it as that of the killer. Shortly after the story went viral, “Black Listed Memer” posted on Facebook: “Assalamualaikum brothers, does our media really take news from Facebook sources? I just woke up and saw that my friend Saji Rajput is being portrayed as a murderer across the country. I was only joking. I know such jokes shouldn’t be made. I sincerely apologize, Sajid bhai.” Moreover, our team conducted a full review of Sajid Rajput’s Facebook ID and found the same image in his photo gallery. Additionally, Sajid Rajput himself published a post clarifying: “I have nothing to do with the murder of Sana Yousaf. @arynewsud broadcasts fake news.” @ICT_Police sources confirmed that the image aired on @arynewsud is not the one officially verified. Earlier today, under tight security, Sumbal Police presented the accused, Umar Hayat alias Kaka, before Duty Magistrate Ahmad Shehzad in connection with the murder of Sana Yousaf. The investigating officer submitted a request for an identification parade, which the court approved. Following the court’s approval, the accused was then sent to jail for the identification process.
Conclusion: A false and unverified image has severely impacted the life of an innocent young man. Therefore, it is the media’s responsibility to verify facts through credible sources before airing any news. Likewise, the public must avoid believing everything they see on social media and should not share any image or news without proper verification. #SanaYousuf#MurderCase#KillerUmerHayat#viralimage#UnverifiedReporting#wrongimage#FakeNews
