Claim: Akshay Kumar has condemned Imran Khan’s arrest.
Fact: An old video of Akshay Kumar endorsing a wearable fitness device has been doctored. The Bollywood actor has not actually made any comments regarding Imran Khan.
On 10 May 2023, Facebook page ‘PTI Murree’ posted a video (archive) claiming that Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar has, through a video statement, condemned the arrest of former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief, Imran Khan.
The video — which has four hashtags, including “#akshykumar,” “#ImranKhan,” #BehindYouSkipper, and “#PTI_SMT_MURREE” — is captioned as follows:
“اکشے کمار بھی میرے کپتان کی غیر قانونی گرفتاری کے خلاف بول پڑا اور پاکستانیوں کے نام پیغام دیا
[Akshay Kumar has also spoken out against the illegal arrest of my Captain [Imran Khan] and gave a message to Pakistanis.]”
The actor says, “I’m supporting Imran Khan. This is the only time you have [so] raise your voice. This is not how someone is arrested. Is this how you arrest… like capturing an animal? Akshay Kumar supporting Imran Khan. I love you.”
In another similar version, Kumar is heard saying, “You need to raise your voice too. This is what happens to a good person every time. Everyone needs to unite for Imran Khan and I’m supporting Imran Khan.
A narrator then repeats the actor’s comments before adding that the Indian media is also outraged at the arrest of Khan.
Imran Khan’s 9 May arrest (archive) had led to protests across Pakistan, with at least eight people killed in the demonstrations, 1,400 detained, and 145 police officers wounded, according to a report (archive) that cited police officials.
The cricketer-turned-politician was taken into custody by Pakistan Rangers on orders of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) from the Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) premises as he was there to appear in a hearing in the Al-Qadir Trust case.
Khan was later released when the Supreme Court of Pakistan intervened, a 14 May report (archive) said.
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check first noticed that the lips of Akshay Kumar do not synchronise with the audio, which is likely overlaid on the video.
We then observed that the actor points towards a wristband, which appears to be a fitness device, so we performed a Google search with relevant keywords. This led us to a 2020 article on Moneycontrol, which states, “Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar has donated 1,000 GOQii Vital 3.0 smart bands to Mumbai Police” and that “Akshay is GOQii’s brand ambassador”.
We also compared the keyframes from the clip with the video on GOQii’s YouTube channel and have made a visual below:
The video, titled “Akshay Kumar Talks About the GOQii Vital ECG and Heart Health,” shows the actor talking about checking his electrocardiogram (ECG) through the brand’s device.
Virality
Soch Fact Check found the video here, here, and here on Facebook, here, here, and here on Twitter, and here, here, and here on TikTok.
Conclusion: An old video of Akshay Kumar endorsing a wearable fitness device has been doctored to make it seem like he commented on Imran Khan’s arrest. The Bollywood actor has not made any such statements.
Background image in cover photo: @PTIOfficial