Claim: An image shows incarcerated former Prime Minister Imran Khan walking through a crowd in an unidentified place amid security protocol, Pakistan Army soldiers and police.
Fact: The image is AI-generated. Khan has not been sighted in public recently and remains imprisoned at Adiala Jail, according to credible news reports.
On 11 October 2026, the federal government imposed an emergency and governor’s rule in KP after the then-CM Sohail Afridi was taken in preventive custody. During this time, several social media users posted an image of PTI founder Imran Khan in public on 14 October 2026, causing a frenzy. The image was posted alongside captions implying that the former PM was spotted in the public recently:
کرو دیدار مرشد کا
[Translation:”Catch a glimpse of the Leader”]
Screenshot of the viral Facebook post showing a false image of the former Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Fact or Fiction?
To verify if the image of Khan was authentic, we first checked the PTI’s official X account; however there was no report that the leader appeared in public.Furthermore, when reverse-image searched, the results did not yield any authentic photograph or news reports that had published an identical image of Imran Khan out in public as of recent in the last two months.
As of 26 October 2026, there are no official news reports on Imran Khan’s conditions in jail, and continues to be held in Adiala Jail.
Visual Inconsistencies
Based on observation, the first inconsistency seen in the image was the visual distortion of the item behind Imran Khan, which appears to be a police cap. Even though the image was captured while in motion, the logo should be naturally blurred rather than distorted.
Secondly, if we see the police officer in the blue uniform, the three stars seen on his left shoulder that indicate his ranking, are not visible on his right shoulder. In the original Islamabad Police uniform the three stars are symmetrically present on both shoulders.
Lastly, in the background if seen on the right-hand side corner of the entrance, faces do merge together and are overlapping together. This would only happen if the image was AI-generated.
Image marked with visual inconsistencies.
OpenAI tool results
Soch Fact Check ran the image through OpenAI’s content verification tool. The result at the end stated the image was “Generated with OpenAI tools” as a SynthID watermark had been detected within the image.
A result obtained from the OpenAI tool showing a SynthID watermark was detected.
SynthID is an invisible watermarking technology developed by Google DeepMind. OpenAI now uses SynthID alongside C2PA Content Credentials as a provenance signal for supported content generated through its tools. OpenAI states that its verification tool checks uploaded files for both types of signals and that a detected signal indicates that the content likely originated from OpenAI tools. It says detected signals are reliable and false positives are rare. SynthID is embedded directly into the media. Google DeepMind says the watermark is designed to remain detectable after modifications such as cropping, adding filters, and image-compression.
Virality
Soch Fact Check found Khan’s image on all social media platforms including Facebook, X, and Instagram, and was shared the most on Facebook.
The image was reshared the most by PTI supporters on Facebook groups, with the original post receiving 4.3 likes, 170 comments, and 138 reshares.
In the past, Soch Fact Check has debunked similar AI-generated videos and images of the incarcerated former Prime Minister.
Conclusion: The visual inconsistencies and OpenAI tool results confirm the image of former Prime Minister Imran Khan is AI-generated.
To appeal against our fact-check, please send an email to appeals@sochfactcheck.com