On May 24 , a hashtag started trending on Pakistani Twitter , demanding #JusticeforSunita Masih . Investigative Reporting Page Daily Scoop TV verified the news and found it to be misleading and false .
The image of a 14 – year – old Christian Girl Sunita Masih was widely shared on social media with the claim that she was gang – raped before being forced to convert to Islam in Faisalabad . The news was published on local media & retweeted by celebrities demanding #JusticeForSunitaMaseeh Faisalabad’s SSP told DSTV that there was no such incident reported in his area .
He added that the case may have occurred in Sukkur . We then reached out to the SSP office in Sukkur and they too denied any such incident having taken place . Then DSTV used advanced tracking tools to ascertain where the trend originated from . Our findings show the incident was first reported by Rahat Austin – a Pakistani Christian man , who now lives in South Korea and is known to have engaged in spreading disinformation in the past .
Last year , Austin shared pictures of burnt corpses of 3 Hindu children who died in a fire in Ghotki district , insinuating they were victims of an arson attack by Muslims . His tweet was shared by Hindutva accounts and quoted in Indian media . That news was also misleading .
The current hashtag was shared by several renowned Pakistani journalists as well as Indian accounts without verification. Such campaigns are designed to malign Pakistan’s image and are also counter-productive for efforts towards minorities ‘ rights and victims of sexual abuse.
