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Abstract
This study documents fact-checkers' priority of political agenda in Indian and Pakistani government-run fact-checking. Government fact-checkers in both countries debunked the issues critical of the government and set the political discourse in the two South Asian countries. This research also shows that Indian and Pakistani fact-checkers' interest areas are confined to issues related to politics, entertainment, sports, health, religion, economics, and international affairs.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Ahmed Shatil Alam, Umer Bilal, Mohammad Zahid Hossain

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References
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- Unit, E. I. (2023). Democracy index 2022
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- Uscinski, J. E., & Butler, R. W. (2013). The epistemology of fact checking. Critical Review, 25(2), 162-180.
- Vinhas, O., & Bastos, M. (2024). When Fact-Checking Is Not WEIRD: Negotiating Consensus Outside Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic Countries. The International Journal of Press/Politics, 0(0).https://doi.org/10.1177/19401612231221801
- Walker, C., & Orttung, R. W. (2014). Breaking the news: The role of state-run media. Journal of Democracy, 25(1), 71-85.
- Young, D. G., Jamieson, K. H., Poulsen, S., & Goldring, A. (2018). Fact-checking effectiveness as a function of format and tone: Evaluating FactCheck. org and FlackCheck. org. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 95(1), 49-75.
- Zaller, J.(2003). A New Standard of News Quality: Burglar Alarms for the monitorial citizen. Political Communication 20(2).
- Zeng, J., Burgess, J., & Bruns, A. (2019). Is citizen journalism better than professional journalism for fact-checking rumours in China? How Weibo users verified information following the 2015 Tianjin blasts. Global media and China, 4(1), 13-35.
References
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative research in psychology, 3(2), 77-101.
Braun, V. (2009). Selling the “perfect” vulva. Cosmetic surgery: A feminist primer, 133-149.
Amazeen, M. A. (2015). Revisiting the epistemology of fact-checking. Critical Review, 27(1), 1-22.
Cronk, B. C. (2016). How to use IBM SPSS statistics: A step-by-step guide to analysis and interpretation. Routledge.
Dragomir, M. (2018). Control the money, control the media: How government uses funding to keep media in line. Journalism, 19(8), 1131-1148.
Fact Checker MoIB [@FactCheckerMoIB]. (n.d.). Tweets [Twitter profile]. Twitter. Retrieved February 13, 2022, from https://twitter.com/FactCheckerMoIB
Freedom House. (2022, February 23a). Pakistan: Freedom in the world 2022 country report. Retrieved February 14, 2023, from https://freedomhouse.org/country/pakistan/freedom-world/2022
Freedom House. (2022, February 23b). Bangladesh: Freedom in the world 2022 country report. Retrieved February 14, 2023, from https://freedomhouse.org/country/bangladesh/freedom-world/2022
Freedom House. (2022, February 23c). India: Freedom in the world 2022 country report. Retrieved February 14, 2023, from https://freedomhouse.org/country/india/freedom-world/2022
Funke, D. (2018, May 30). How to fact-check politics in countries with no press freedom. Poynter. Retrieved from https://www.poynter.org/fact-checking/2018/how-to-fact-check-politics-in-countries-with-no-press-freedom/
Graves L (2016) Deciding What’s True: The Rise of Political Fact-Checking in American Journalism. New York: Columbia University Press.
Graves, L. (2017). Anatomy of a fact check: Objective practice and the contested epistemology of fact checking. Communication, Culture & Critique, 10(3), 518-537.
Graves, L. (2018). Boundaries not drawn: Mapping the institutional roots of the global fact-checking movement. Journalism Studies, 19(5), 613-631.
Haque, M. M., Yousuf, M., Arman, Z., Main Uddin Rony, M., Alam, A. S., Hasan, K. M, Islam, K. & Hassan, N. (2018). Fact-checking Initiatives in Bangladesh, India, and Nepal: A Study of User Engagement and Challenges. arXiv e-prints, arXiv-1811.
Jahangir, R. (2021, November 28). Pro-government ‘fact checkers’ are vilifying Pakistani journalists. Coda Story. Retrieved May 10, 2023, from https://www.codastory.com/authoritarian-tech/pakistan-harassment-journalists/
Kieran, M (2000). The Regulatory and Ethical Framework for Investigative Journalism. Hugo de Burgh (Ed.), Investigative Journalism. Context and Practice.
Locke, J. (1988). Two Treaties of Government. Cambridge University Press.
McQuail, D. (1992). Media Performance, Mass Communication, and The Public Interest. London: Sage Publication.
Mena, P. (2019). Principles and boundaries of fact-checking: Journalists’ perceptions. Journalism Practice, 13(6), 657-672.
Nieminen, S., & Rapeli, L. (2019). Fighting Misperceptions and Doubting Journalists’ Objectivity: A Review of Fact-checking Literature. Political Studies Review, 17(3), 296-309. https://doi.org/10.1177/1478929918786852
Nyhan B, Porter E, Reifler J, et al. (2020) Taking fact-checks literally but not seriously? The effects of journalistic fact-checking on factual beliefs and candidate favorability. Political Behavior 42(3): 939–960.
PIB Fact Check [@PIBFactCheck]. (n.d.). Tweets [Twitter profile]. Twitter. Retrieved February 13, 2022, from https://twitter.com/PIBFactCheck
Schuldt, L. (2021). Official truths in a war on fake news: Governmental fact-checking in Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand. Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs, 40(2), 340-371.
Smalley, S. (2022, July 7). Fact checker detained in India for allegedly inflaming religious strife. Poynter. Retrieved February 14, 2023, from https://www.poynter.org/fact-checking/2022/fact-checker-mohammed-zubair-arrested-india-religion/
Stromback, J. (2005). In Search of a Standard: four Models of Democracy and Their Normative Implications for Journalism. Journalism Studies, Volume 6.
Thomas-Meyer, M., Mytton, O., & Adams, J. (2017). Public responses to proposals for a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages: a thematic analysis of online reader comments posted on major UK news websites. PloS one, 12(11), e0186750.
Unit, E. I. (2023). Democracy index 2022
Uscinski, J. E. (2015). The epistemology of fact checking (is still naìve): Rejoinder to Amazeen. Critical Review, 27(2), 243-252.
Uscinski, J. E., & Butler, R. W. (2013). The epistemology of fact checking. Critical Review, 25(2), 162-180.
Vinhas, O., & Bastos, M. (2024). When Fact-Checking Is Not WEIRD: Negotiating Consensus Outside Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic Countries. The International Journal of Press/Politics, 0(0).https://doi.org/10.1177/19401612231221801
Walker, C., & Orttung, R. W. (2014). Breaking the news: The role of state-run media. Journal of Democracy, 25(1), 71-85.
Young, D. G., Jamieson, K. H., Poulsen, S., & Goldring, A. (2018). Fact-checking effectiveness as a function of format and tone: Evaluating FactCheck. org and FlackCheck. org. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 95(1), 49-75.
Zaller, J.(2003). A New Standard of News Quality: Burglar Alarms for the monitorial citizen. Political Communication 20(2).
Zeng, J., Burgess, J., & Bruns, A. (2019). Is citizen journalism better than professional journalism for fact-checking rumours in China? How Weibo users verified information following the 2015 Tianjin blasts. Global media and China, 4(1), 13-35.