Claim: A video shows a man sculpting a statue of former prime minister Imran Khan.
Fact: The video is AI-generated.
A video shared online shows an old man sculpting a statue of Imran Khan. The video was captioned: “چچا اس کی قیمت تو ہم ادا نہیں کر سکتے پر دل سے دعا ہے اللّٰہ پاک آپ کو ہمیشہ سلامت رکھے آمین”
[Translation: We can’t repay the value of what you’ve done, uncle, but from the bottom of our hearts we pray that Allah keeps you safe and well always. Ameen.]
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check identified a major visual inconsistency in the video that suggested it is likely AI-generated. At the start of the clip, the man appears to be hammering a nail or stick in his hand. However, a closer look shows that the hammer does not seem to make contact with the object. Instead, it appears in front of the hand holding the object, revealing a clear mismatch between the action and the visuals.
A reverse search of keyframes from the viral video led us to a Facebook account named Hyper Reels, listed as being based in Kolkata, India. The page featured the viral video as well as multiple videos of the same man crafting statues of various public personalities, including some Bollywood actors, celebrities like Michael Jackson, and sportsmen. In the comments under these posts, numerous users pointed out that the videos are AI-generated.
Soch Fact Check then analysed the video using Hive Moderation, which is an AI-detection tool. It flagged the video as “likely to contain AI-generated or deepfake content” with a score of 99.9%.
Virality
The video was shared here (archive) and here (archive) on Facebook.
On X, it was shared here (archive).
On TikTok, it was shared here (archive) and here (archive).
Conclusion: The viral clip showing a man sculpting a statue of Imran Khan is AI-generated.
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Background image in cover photo: Facebook
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