Claim: A picture shows men carrying placards at Mard March in reaction to the Aurat March protests in 2026.
Fact: This claim is false; only one Mard March was held in 2019. The image is AI-generated.
On 12 May 2026, Facebook user Mushtaq Ahmed posted an image captioned “Mard March.”
The photo depicts a man at the centre, holding a poster with writing in bold and big letters that says:
“Mardo ke bajae janwaro se shadi karo.”
[Translation: Instead of marrying men, marry animals.]
In the background, several men are visible carrying Mard March posters.
Mard March 2019
Organised by local feminist collectives and activists since May 2018, the Aurat March is an annual protest held in multiple Pakistani cities, drawing thousands of people to rally for the bodily, democratic, economic, and social rights of women and gender diverse people, as well as to call out patriarchal norms.
However, in 2019 former stand-up comedian and now-podcast host Shehzad Ghias Sheikh said a social media outlet “FHM” started “Mard March” as a retaliatory protest to “Aurat March.” According to Sheikh his commentary and encouragement for men to engage in this campaign began as satire, with him making a mock poster and references linked to Frere Hall in Karachi, which eventually culminated into an actual retaliatory protest.
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check investigated the image by analysing aspects that stand out to the human eye. Four signs indicating that it is AI-generated are highlighted in the image below :
Screenshot from Facebook page depicts the alleged Mard March
Firstly, the man’s figure standing at the center is quite sharp against the background, and the men standing inches behind him are heavily blurred, which indicates the image is manipulated.
Moreover, when zoomed in, the men in the crowd behind him have identical features, like their eyes, eyebrows, and beards. Their clothes, hats and the posters are the only distinct features.
In terms of lighting, the image appears to be artificial and stylized; the background lighting resembles studio lighting and natural sunlight only appears on the hair of the man at the centre. Their faces seem to be over-sculpted. Additionally, the hands show visible distortions, including fingers melding into one another without knuckle definition.
Optic and Lighting anomaly
Another manipulation is seen in the placards: the language is incoherent and unreadable shown in the image below. For instance, the main poster starts with “Mard Ka” and is then hidden with the main character.
Screenshot of incoherent language on AI-generated posters from Facebook Image
Screenshot of main poster in the Facebook Image
Furthermore, to test the image has been AI-generated, Soch Fact Check scanned it through Decopy AI. This tool detects AI-generated images and text, and below we gave in the image from the Facebook post, to see if it coincides with the human analysis that was done.
As seen below, the result is concluded at 99% AI-generated, which debunks the claim as false. Moreover, the analysis of the text on the picture and the accuracy of it, can be seen as signs of manipulation which had not been spotted before in the investigation. Overall, this analysis can support the fact it is an AI-generated picture.
Results from Decopy AI
Based on Soch Fact Check’s independent analysis and AI detection tool, it can be concluded that this image is AI-generated. Moreover, the posts from 2019, will suggest the Mard March only took place once.
Virality
Soch Fact Check found the claim circulating on Facebook, with the most interaction even if it was only three posts, it was in groups that have more than 42K members. It was also shared on Instagram.
Soch Fact Check has previously debunked false and misleading claims about the Aurat March, which circulate on social media in the wake of protests each year.
Conclusion: Soch Fact Check concludes the image has been altered and Mard March did not take place in 2026.
To appeal against our fact-check, please send an email to appeals@sochfactcheck.com