Claim: According to a recent CNN survey, Imran Khan’s popularity has soared to 90%.
Fact: CNN did not conduct a survey indicating a rise in the popularity of the jailed former PTI chairman.
X user, @Itx_Wahab123, shared an image (archive) of Imran Khan, apparently from ‘Pakistan Tribune’, and featuring the CNN logo in the background, along with the caption:
“سی این این کے حالیہ سروے کے مطابق عمران خان کی پاپولیریٹی 90٪ ہو گئی ہے، الحمد اللہ
وائرل کریں اس ٹویٹ کو۔”
[Translation: According to a recent CNN survey, Imran Khan’s popularity has reached 90%. Thank God. Make this tweet viral.]
Imran Khan’s political career
Former Pakistani cricketer turned politician Imran Khan won the general elections in 2018 and served as the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan. However, in 2022, Khan was ousted from power after losing a no-confidence vote in the parliament. In November 2023, Khan was arrested from his Lahore residence after receiving a three-year prison sentence in a corruption case involving the illegal sale of state gifts. This conviction also disqualified Khan from holding political office for five years.
Khan, who was previously arrested in May 2023 in another corruption case, denied any wrongdoing and claimed he had acquired the gifts legally. His arrest followed over 150 legal cases against him since his ousting in April 2022, many of which were linked to allegations of corruption and inciting violence.
In January 2024, the former Prime Minister was sentenced to 10 years in prison for leaking state secrets under the Official Secrets Act. A year later, in January 2025, Khan was sentenced to 14 years in prison in a corruption case involving the Al-Qadir Trust, making it the longest sentence he has received so far. He was also fined over £4,000, while his wife, Bushra Bibi, received a seven-year sentence and a fine. Khan has dismissed all the charges, claiming that they are politically motivated.
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check first conducted a keyword search using the terms “CNN,” “survey,” “Imran Khan,” “popularity,” and “90%.” However, this did not yield any credible results, which raised our suspicions about the claim. We then checked CNN’s official website, YouTube channel, and social media accounts, but did not find any evidence of a survey conducted to assess Imran Khan’s popularity or that of other Pakistani politicians.
To investigate the claim further, Soch Fact Check contacted CNN via email to inquire about the survey. However, in an email response, the news organisation confirmed that it did not conduct the survey referenced in the viral posts.
Virality
The claim was shared here, here, here, here, here, and here on Facebook. Archived here, here, here, here, here, and here.
On X, it was shared here, here, here, and here. Archived here, here, here, and here.
It was shared here on Instagram.
Conclusion: The claim that a CNN survey revealed that Imran Khan’s popularity had risen to 90% is false; CNN has confirmed it did not carry out any such poll.
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Background image in cover photo: The Express Tribune
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