Introduction

A video on social media claims that a huge rally was held in America in support of Imran Khan. However, through forensic analysis we found out that the gathering shown in the video is actually in support of a football team in Senegal, Africa.

Claim

A video circulating on social media with a claim of Anti-American Rally in USA in support of Ex-Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan was shared. The video was captioned: “عمران کے حق میں ریلی امریکہ میں” which translates to: “Rally in favor of Imran Khan in America”.

Debunked Source

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?ref=saved&v=2832429493718695

https://www.facebook.com/100077261206771/videos/1327777067725036/

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?ref=saved&v=3110186025923803

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?ref=saved&v=482130240324752

https://www.facebook.com/pti.insaaf.58/videos/713667410001224/

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?ref=saved&v=3235268873419909

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?ref=saved&v=935833677108523

https://twitter.com/Adnantoheed1122/status/1513395602582908931

Fact Check

In order to verify the claim, we extracted key frames of shared video using AI assisted tool.

Reverse image of a keyframe found that video is of Senegal’s capital Dakar, to welcome the national football team on February 7, 2022. We also found a ranked keyword “Senegal celebrate AFCON^[1] in Dakar” for the video.

Video was shared by twitter users on the 8^th and the 11^th of February, 2022.

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[1] The Africa Cup of Nations referred to as AFCON, and sometimes as African Cup of Nations, is the main international men’s association football competition in Africa.

Source

https://twitter.com/Elcheikhamar/status/1490802862342955014

https://twitter.com/Hov_Hefner/status/1492143480520462343

Rating

Conclusion

While Pakistan is facing a political turmoil, as its ex-Prime Minister, Imran Khan, received a no confidence vote from the Parliament, losing his position, and is now organizing mass campaigns for fair elections, disinformation is spreading simultaneously. Political party supporters are either trying to promote the parties they support or trying to defame the parties they don’t support through fake news and disinformation. It is an on-going cyber war.

This case is also similar to other cases, where PTI supporters have used fake news to showcase the power and influence of PTI.

ABCDE Framework-Based Analysis

Actor	Independent social media accounts and pages are involved in disseminating fake and misleading content.
Behavior	A video on social media claims that a huge rally was held in America in support of ex-Prime Minister of Pakistan; Imran Khan.
Content	Social Media posts.
Degree	Political party supporters are either trying to promote the parties they support or trying to defame the parties they don’t support through fake news and disinformation. It is an on-going cyber war.
Effect	Supporters of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf and Imran Khan are spreading fake news to maximize his popularity across the country.