Claim: A new picture of Imran Khan shows him with a long beard, wearing a blue shalwar kameez and a dark blue waistcoat
Fact: Khan has not grown a beard during his time in prison. The image being circulated recently is doctored.
On 27 October 2024, an Instagram user shared a photograph of Imran Khan, founder and chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) who has been in prison for more than 15 months now, following a court order issued on 5 August 2023 by the Additional District and Sessions Judge Humayun Dilawar.
The same photograph was later reshared on X on 29 October 2024.
Since his imprisonment, doctored photographs showing a bearded Imran Khan have appeared in August 2023 and January 2024, fact-checked by Soch Fact Check here and here.
Reports of Khan’s mistreatment in jail were circulating the internet in the last week of October. Khan’s sister Aleema Khanum also issued a statement on 28 October claiming that Khan’s health has worsened, he is being kept in dire circumstances, he is not being allowed to exercise despite his need for physiotherapy, and he has not been allowed to leave his cell, which is a violation of the laws which mandate prisoners’ treatment in Pakistan. His former wife Jemima Goldsmith also expressed concerns regarding Khan’s mistreatment in jail in mid-October.
While the Adiala Jail administration denied any claims of Khan’s mistreatment in prison, it caused a lot of concern among PTI supporters who threatened to “shut down Pakistan” if Khan is not treated well. During the same time, this photograph of Khan in a beard began circulating the internet, adding fuel to the claims about his alleged mistreatment.
This article does not investigate Khan’s treatment in jail, it only addresses only the photograph that was circulated in this context.
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check conducted a reverse-image search of the photograph and found that similar photographs of Imran Khan in the same clothes and sitting with a group of lawyers were shared by Islamabad High Court’s lawyer Ali Ijaz Buttar, on his Instagram account on 12 May 2023. In the images shared in Buttar’s carousel post, one can clearly see that Khan is wearing the same clothes as the image in the claim and sitting around a group of lawyers in black.
Sight Engine’s report on a deepfake analysis Imran Khan’s photograph showing him in a beard
We also verified whether AI was deployed to manipulate Imran Khan’s face to look like he was sporting a beard. Sight Engine, an independent AI manipulation detector concluded that this photograph is 99% likely to be a deepfake, it also further elaborated that Khan’s face was the most manipulated. The result from this detector has been mentioned below.
Soch Fact Check also reached out to Imran Ghazali, PTI’s former chief digital strategist, he shared a video statement from Dr Muhammed Aasim Yusuf, Chief Medical Officer Consultant Gastroenterologist SKMCH, which was published on 4 November 2024.
In this statement, he clearly says, “When I met Khan sahab this morning, he appeared to be in his usual high spirits…. On examination today, he looked very well, he was freshly shaven and had good skin colour. His heart rate was 50 beats per minute and his blood pressure was 110/70 and his oxygen saturation on room air was 98%.” This statement makes it clear that despite the concerns regarding Khan’s mistreatment in jail, he was allowed to shave and could not have sported a beard.
In addition to this, Soch Fact Check also spoke with Azhar Mashwani, PTI’s digital strategist, who confirmed that this photograph is fake since it is a doctored version of a previous photograph.
Virality
We found that the claim was shared on Instagram here. The claim was also shared on TikTok here. On YouTube we found that it was shared here, here, here, and here.
On Facebook, we found that the claim was shared here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. Some of these posts recycled older versions of the claim.
Conclusion: The photo of Imran Khan with a beard is doctored.
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Background image in cover photo: Aaj News English
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