In a case of grave misreporting, Pakistan’s leading news channel 'Dawn' ran a breaking news bulletin on the death of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has been suffering from a worsening case of the coronavirus infection beginning last month.
The news channel not only rushed to outdo competitors, but also attributed the news to a fake twitter handle said to be aligned with the BBC World Service.
“British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has died due to coronavirus. According to BBC world report, Boris Johnson has died in hospital after testing positive for coronavirus,” stated the Dawn News anchor in Urdu.
"The prime minister has been stable overnight and remains in good spirits. He is receiving standard oxygen treatment and breathing without any other assistance. He has not required mechanical ventilation, or non-invasive respiratory support", a spokesperson for Johnson stated, on Monday.
An avalanche of reactions flooded the twitter soon the video clip of news channel's grave mistake went viral.
Another called it 'revenge' by a private news channel as there were rumours of Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan testing positive for the deadly coronavirus.
Rumour and fake news has run rampant in the wake of the pandemic. Earlier, a Pakistan Twitter handle, along with several others, shared false stories claiming that Russian President Vladimir Putin had unleashed 800 tigers and lions across Russia to clamp down on citizen movement amid the global reach of the disease.