A fraudulent webpage impersonating Dawn was found online and accessible on Thursday, spreading false information while presenting itself as part of the Dawn Media Group. The webpage, which was hosted on a web address unrelated to the official Dawn.com domain, published fabricated claims about an artificial intelligence investment platform and attempted to persuade readers to provide personal information. Dawn clarified that the website has no connection with the Dawn Media Group and confirmed that the page was neither hosted on nor associated with its official news platform.
The fake webpage published a fabricated news report claiming that business tycoon Arif Habib had launched an AI platform named BTC+700 Lurot. According to the false report, the platform was promoted as an investment opportunity that could generate financial returns for users. The article further alleged that the project had been created under the Pakistan Digital 2030 vision with support from the government and leading Pakistani enterprises. However, no credible information or official announcement regarding such a platform could be found through web searches. The webpage also displayed a graphic falsely identifying Pakistan State Oil (PSO), State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), and a fictitious organization named Pakistan Telecom AI as key partners in the project. These claims were unsupported and inconsistent with publicly available information. Dawn emphasized that the report did not originate from its newsroom and that the content was entirely fabricated to mislead readers.
Several visual and editorial inconsistencies further distinguished the fake webpage from the official Dawn website. The article and headline did not match Dawn editorial style, formatting, or presentation. Images included in the report appeared to be generated using artificial intelligence, containing unreadable Urdu text and graphics that did not accurately reflect the official branding of Arif Habib Ltd. At the bottom of the page, users were presented with an embedded form requesting their mobile phone numbers to register for the so called trading platform. The fraudulent page also displayed an editor note claiming to endorse the investment service. Dawn stated that it does not embed third party registration forms within its news stories and does not endorse commercial products or investment platforms in this manner. The publication also noted that every navigation tab on the fake page redirected visitors back to the same registration form instead of leading to different news sections, unlike the functionality of its legitimate website.
The impersonating webpage also featured a comments section that differed significantly from the appearance of the genuine Dawn platform, including variations in font style, button placement, and overall layout. Hyperlinks embedded throughout the fabricated story consistently redirected readers to the registration form instead of linking to relevant reports or credible sources, which is contrary to Dawn editorial practices. Dawn stated that similar impersonation attempts have occurred in the past and advised readers to carefully verify website addresses before trusting or interacting with online content. The incident highlights the continued use of fake news websites to spread disinformation and collect user information by exploiting the identity of established media organizations. Users are encouraged to verify that they are visiting the official Dawn.com website before relying on published reports or submitting any personal information through online forms.
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