Claim: An elderly woman slapped Maryam Nawaz.
Fact: The viral video is digitally altered.
A reel shared on Facebook shows an elderly woman slapping CM Punjab Maryam Nawaz. The video was captioned: جب عوام نے مریم نواز کو آڑے ہاتھوں لے لیا 😱🔥 یہ ہوا کیسے؟
[Translation: When the public lashed out at Maryam Nawaz 😱🔥 How did this happen?]
It also contains the following text: مریم نواز کو 80 سالہ بزرگ خاتون نے تھپڑ دے مارا تم ہمارا مزاق بنانے آئی ہو
[Translation: An 80-year -old elderly woman slapped Maryam Nawaz, saying, have you come here to make fun of us?]
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check spotted several visual irregularities in the viral clip. For instance, the video glitches when the elderly woman raises her hand to slap Nawaz. Her hand also appears to be distorted. In one frame, her hand briefly disappears and morphs unnaturally. Both women’s faces also visibly warp towards the end of the clip.
Visual inconsistencies in the viral clip
Such inconsistencies, like frame-level distortions, unnatural motion, and facial artifacts during complex movements, are often present in altered or manipulated footage. Therefore, we reverse-searched keyframes of the viral clip to trace the original footage, and found a video shared by Azaad Digital on 7 January 2026.
The post was captioned: مریم نواز کا بزرگ خاتون سے دلچسپ مکالمہ
[Translation: An interesting exchange between Maryam Nawaz and an elderly woman.]
In the video, CM Punjab compliments the woman’s clothes and asks whether she is satisfied with Nawaz’s performance as chief minister. The woman replies that she is happy, after which Maryam Nawaz gently places her hands over the woman’s hands. At no point in the clip does the woman slap Nawaz.
A further search led us to extended footage shared by Aaj News on 20 October 2025. At 3:48, the same elderly woman appears again. Seeing this version made it evident that the Azaad Digital clip is a close-up while it is filmed from a distance and shows Nawaz speaking with the woman. She then placed her hands over the elderly woman’s hands and guided her back to her chair. Even in this extended version, there is no indication of any altercation taking place.
Soch Fact Check also tested the video in the claim by running it through DeepFake-O-Meter, which analysed it using multiple AI-based detection models. The results for the video are as follows:
Deep Fake-O-Meter results
We used the TALL (2023) model as it focuses on checking online videos, which are often compressed or altered in ways that hide fine details. By testing whether the video remains coherent after details are removed, TALL helps reveal manipulation that may not be obvious to the eye. It rated the probability of the video being fake at 99.6%.
The video was then analysed using the XCLIP (2022) model, which rated the probability of the video being fake at 87.2%. This model uses cross-frame attention to analyse how frames relate to each other over time. This makes it good at spotting inconsistencies in facial movements, expressions, and temporal flow, which are common signs of deepfakes.
Lastly, we used the AltFreezing (2023) model, a deep-learning tool designed to detect fake videos. It works by analysing both visual details and changes to spot signs of manipulation. The model estimated an 88.2% likelihood that the video is fake.
Given that the original video did not show any instances of altercation, the results from DeepFake-O-Meter, and the presence of visual distortions in the video in the claim, we conclude that it is digitally altered.
Virality
The claim gained significant traction on Facebook receiving over 3,000 likes and 500 shares. It was shared here (archive).
Conclusion: The video of an elderly woman slapping Maryam Nawaz is digitally altered.
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Background image in cover photo: Facebook
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