Claim: Multiple videos show journalist Benazir Shah dancing at different events. Additionally, viral photographs show her dining with media mogul Mir Shakil ur Rahman.
Fact: None of the videos or images are authentic; Shah’s face has been doctored onto other women to discredit her. One of the pictures is likely entirely created using AI.
In November 2025, multiple videos allegedly showing prominent Pakistani journalist Benazir Shah dancing surfaced on social media, in what appeared to be a campaign targeting her.
Some posts also showed Shah purportedly dining with Mir Shakil ur Rahman, also known as MSR, a media mogul who owns the Jang Group, the parent company of Geo News, for which she works.
One video (archive), which reportedly shows her in a pink dress at an outdoor venue, was posted on X (formerly Twitter) on 18 November 2025 alongside the following caption:
“اس خاتون کا نام بے نظیر شاہ ہے یہ جیو کی صحافی ہیں مگر یہ پی ٹی آئی سے ماھانہ 7لاکھ تنخواہ وصول کرتی ہے۔اسکے علاوہ بے نظیر شاہ ملک دشمن پی ٹی ایم۔ بی ایل اے کی بھی سہولت کار ہیں @Benazir_Shah صحافی کم اور ڈانسر زیادہ ہے۔ اب یہ آپ پر ہے کہ اسکو صحافی تسلیم کریں یا PTI ڈانسر💃💃
[This woman’s name is Benazir Shah. She is a Geo [News] journalist, but she receives a monthly salary of 7 lakh [700,000] from PTI. Apart from this, Benazir Shah is also a facilitator of the anti-national PTM-BLA. @Benazir_Shah less a journalist and more a dancer. Now it is up to you whether to consider her a journalist or a PTI dancer 💃💃]”
“PTI,” “PTM,” and “BLA” respectively refer to the incarcerated former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement, a rights and protest initiative, and the militant separatist group Balochistan Liberation Army.
A second video (archive), allegedly depicting her in a black dress in an indoor setting, was also shared on X on 8 November 2025, accompanied by the following caption:
“یہوتنی ہو اور نچن آلی نہ ہو یہ کبھی ہو نہیں سکتا۔ یہوتیوں کی ونیلا آئس کریم بینظیر شاہ کی لندن کے کلب میں ڈانس وڈیو لیک
[It is impossible for a Jewish-Youthni not to be a dancer. The dance video of Jewish-Youthni’s vanilla ice cream Benazir Shah in a London club leaked]”
“Youthiya” and “Youthni” — a portmanteau combining the words “youth” with an abusive term in colloquial Urdu — is used, more often than not, in a derogatory manner to refer to PTI supporters. In this case, the word used is “Yahootni,” a play on “Yahoodi,” which means Jew in Urdu, and “Youthni.”
The video also has the text “Harkaten aesi hain or Harrass hone ka drama bhi behtreen 👏🏻” — which translates to “These are her actions and the pretence of being harassed is excellent 👏🏻” — superimposed on it.
A third clip (archive), in which a woman appearing to resemble Shah in an off-the-shoulder dress says “I take care of these things,” was posted on Facebook and is accompanied by the following caption:
“صحافی بے نظیر شاہ اپنی چیزوں کا خیال رکھتی ہے۔ اچھی بات ہے خیال رکھنا۔ ورنہ یہ چیزی دبئی میں عربی لوگ چرا دیتے ہیں۔ اکثر اوقات تو بے نظیر شاہ جیسے لوگ خود ہی عربیوں کو تحفہ میں یہ قیمتی چیزیں گفٹ کر دیتی ہیں😜 @Benazir_Shah
[Journalist Benazir Shah takes care of her things. It’s a good thing to take care of them. Otherwise, Arabs in Dubai steal these things. Often, people like Benazir Shah themselves give these valuable things as gifts to Arabs😜 @Benazir_Shah]”
A Facebook post (archive) shared on 10 November 2025 contains three pictures, all featuring Shah and MSR: the first one shows the two standing together, the second depicts them sharing a meal, and the third is a selfie-style photo — apparently taken by Shah — with the media mogul in the background (archived here, here, and here).
It is accompanied by the following caption:
“تھاٸ لینڈ کے پرتعیش ہوٹل میں جنگ اور جیو میڈیا ہاؤس کے مالک میر شکیل الرحمان کے ساتھ داد عیش دیتی یہ نام نہاد صحافی بے نظیر شاہ ہے۔ جیو نیوز کے پروگرام میں لائم لائٹ میں رہنے والی بے نظیر شاہ کی کریڈیبلٹی بہترین صحافت نہیں بلکہ میر شکیل الرحمن کی خلوتوں کو روشن کرنا ہے۔ شہرت اور پیسے کی طلب میں جسم فروشی کرنے والی ایسی نام نہاد صحافی مزید شہرت کی ہوس میں دوسروں کی عزتیں اچھالنے سے کبھی نہیں ہچکچاتیں۔ یہ ہے ہمارے ملک کی صحافت کا تاریک چہرہ جہاں شہرت کی سیڑھی چڑھنے کیلیے جسم اور ایمان بیچے جاتے ہیں۔
[This so-called journalist Benazir Shah is seen enjoying herself with the owner of Jang and Geo Media House, Mir Shakil ur Rehman, in a luxurious hotel in Thailand. The credibility of Benazir Shah, who stays in the limelight in the Geo News programme, is not good journalism, but to brighten up the private life of Mir Shakil ur Rehman. Such so-called journalists, who sell their bodies for fame and money, never hesitate to dishonour others in the lust for more fame. This is the dark face of our country’s journalism, where bodies and faith are sold to climb the ladder of fame.]”
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check reverse-searched the images and keyframes from the viral videos to ascertain their origin and whether they were manipulated.
The first video, in fact, shows Varsha Gahlot — a social media user with over 1.3 million followers on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads — who posted the video on 21 August 2025 on her respective social media accounts (archived here, here, and here). She can be seen wearing the same dress in other clips she uploaded here, here, and here on the same day.
The second clip was traced to various different social media posts that identified the woman as Indian actress Jannat Zubair Rahmani. The caption of one video mentions “launch party of fomo”, which helped us corroborate the same by comparing her clothes in other visuals from the event.
Other social media visuals, including from Rahmani’s own post, from the event — the launch of a nightlife and event company by the actress and entrepreneur Sakshi Goyal, called “Flash On, Music On” — show her in the same attire.
The third video is most likely social media influencer Samiya Hijab, as suggested by a keyframe from the viral video identified by Google Reverse Image Search.
While we did not find the exact video, we were able to trace some clips in which Hijab appears to be wearing the same dress and necklace. Some examples can be found here, here, here, here, and here on her own social media accounts, while others are available here, here, and here.
It is also likely that she livestreamed the video that was later digitally-manipulated, perhaps using artificial intelligence (AI) tools, to include journalist Shah’s face.
The first of the three pictures appears to be generated using AI tools given the multiple tell-tale signs such as waxy skin textures of both individuals, a double bulge in MSR’s right palm and a missing button stitch on his right lapel, and crispness around Shah’s mouth as compared to the slightly out-of-focus lower portion of his face despite both being the same distance from the camera.
We also ran the image through some tools, the results of which are mentioned later under deepfake detectors.
The second of the three images is a stock photo with Shah’s and MSR’s faces doctored into it. This is evident through similar pictures from the same setting available on multiple websites, dating back to as early as September 2015, when it was published in an article in the Hindustan Times, which credited it to iStock.
The exact picture appears to be a cropped version of this one, with the waiter on the left removed.
The third photo, shot selfie-style, is actually a screenshot from a video posted on Facebook and Instagram by TV anchor Rafia Awan on 9 August 2025. It shows her and former Turkish Consul General Cemal Sangu.
Deepfake detectors’ results
The first tool used to test the visuals in the claim was DeepFake-O-Meter, developed by the University at Buffalo’s Media Forensics Lab (UB MDFL).
For the three videos, we used six detectors. The results are tabularised below:
For the three images, we used seven detectors. The results are tabularised below:
Hive Moderation said the probabilities of the three videos and three images being AI-generated were 89.9%, 39.9%, 11.1%, 99.9%, 0%, and 99.9%, respectively.
Similarly, Zhuque AI Detection Assistant yielded respective probabilities of 0%, 0%, 0.01%, 51.52%, 26.62%, and 63.69%.
Soch Fact Check, therefore, concludes that the viral videos and images of Shah are digitally manipulated, likely using AI tools.
Reactions, responses
Shah, the journalist, responded by quote-posting one of the deepfake videos, noting that @PakVocals — the account that posted it — was “followed by the Information Minister” Attaullah Tarar. “But as we’ve said before, we’ll say it again: #AttacksWontSilenceUs,” she wrote.
Tarar took notice and said the video was “totally unacceptable and highly condemnable”. In his response on X, he wrote, “Nobody has the right to make fake videos and then disseminate them or try to harass any journalist by defaming them. I follow more than 1900 accounts. I do not condone the behaviour of this account and also assure you that action will be taken.”
However, the journalist wrote that she appreciated the issue being taken seriously but “do(es) not wish to pursue a PECA [Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016] case through the NCCIA [National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency], as doing so would lend legitimacy to a law and an institution that have been used to harass journalists, silence private citizens, and suppress dissent”.
She also wrote that if the government of Pakistan really wished to ensure journalists’ and citizens’ safety, “they should scrap PECA and the NCCIA and begin a genuine consultation process to draft legislation that truly addresses journalists’ concerns”.
Later, in his comments in the 18 November 2025 episode of HUM News’ talk show “Faisla Aap Ka” hosted by journalist Asma Shirazi, Tarar said, “First off, there’s no troll brigade. And we don’t encourage that. Our [PML-N’s] leadership strictly forbids us from engaging us in such activities.”
He said he had swiftly condemned the video and offered strict action through the NCCIA and the Commission for the Protection of Journalists and Media Professionals (CPJMP) but remarked that she had refused. He also added that the account — @PakVocals — had issued an apology as well.
The account has indeed issued an apology and asked for forgiveness. It referred to Tarar as “our brave minister” and wrote, “He knows better how we should use media and social media. We juniors will learn from the senior and act upon it.” However, it has not deleted the manipulated video as of publishing time.
On the other hand, the Freedom Network — of which Shah is a member of the Board of Advisors — wrote that her comments regarding the use of NCCIA and PECA were “principled and deeply aligned with the values of press freedom, digital rights, and journalist safety”.
“At Freedom Network, we express our full solidarity with Benazir Shah and we reiterate our long-held position: Pakistan needs rights-respecting digital legislation, not punitive frameworks that enable coercion and intimidation,” it added.
Manipulated visuals of prominent women
This is not the first time a female public figure has been targeted with doctored images and videos, which are designed to cast them in a negative light. Disinformation of this nature can result in harmful consequences for their career and reputation and even endanger their safety in some cases.
In the past, Soch Fact Check has debunked a viral doctored video of Azma Bokhari, prompting her to approach the Lahore High Court (LHC). Additionally, PTI activist Sanam Javaid Khan was also targeted twice in July 2024 and September 2025.
We have also debunked fake or doctored visuals of lawyer and activist Imaan Mazari, former PM Khan’s wife, Bushra Bibi, PTI leader Zartaj Gul Wazir, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Meena Majeed, and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Hina Parvez Butt.
Women journalists targeted
Recent years have seen a sharp escalation in the online harassment, trolling, and abuse of women journalists in Pakistan, with attacks often being highly coordinated, gendered, and politically-motivated.
Studies and reports from organisations such as the Coalition for Women in Journalism (CFWIJ), Media Matters for Democracy (MMfD), and the Digital Rights Foundation (DRF) confirm that women journalists are disproportionately targeted compared to their male counterparts, often facing sexually explicit comments, rape and death threats, and the use of misogynistic slurs.
Trolls — frequently affiliated with or mobilised by political parties — weaponise social media to discredit women by circulating fabricated images and deepfake videos, questioning their character, and undermining their professional integrity.
The persistent online abuse, threats, and character assassination often end up moving from digital spaces to mainstream media channels and then to the real world through doxxing, creating physical safety risks and hindering their ability to gather news and access sources.
In September 2020, over 150 Pakistani women journalists issued a statement — titled “Together Against Digital Abuse” — about the gender-based attacks against them that led to risks to their safety and ability to work. There has since been a campaign called “Attacks Won’t Silence Us.”
Virality
The X post by @PrincessHony_ with the woman in a pink dress has been viewed over 196,600 times so far. It was also shared here, here, and here on Facebook and here on Instagram.
The X post by @PakVocals featuring a woman in a black dress has garnered more than 589,700 views as of writing time.
The video of a woman in an off-the-shoulder dress has been viewed upwards of 3,400 times to date. It was also shared with the same caption on X, with 54,300 views so far.
The Facebook post containing three photos has garnered over 120 reactions, 150 comments, and 20 shares. It was also shared here, here, and here on X.
Conclusion: None of the videos or images are authentic; Shah’s face has been doctored onto other women to discredit her. At least one image is likely entirely created using AI.
Background image in cover photo: youthparlpak
To appeal against our fact-check, please send an email to appeals@sochfactcheck.com