Claim: A video shows Chief Minister of Punjab, Maryam Nawaz, condemning the attack on YouTuber Rajab Butt at a city court in Karachi.
Fact: The viral clip is AI-generated. Nawaz did not make any such speech condemning the attack.
A video shared online shows CM Punjab Maryam Nawaz delivering a speech. The video contains the following Urdu text:
“جب بٹ اور ندیم نانی پر وکلاء کا تشدد، مار مار موا کر دیا
رجب بٹ کے جبڑے اور منہ سے خون بہنے لگا، چپڑے پھاڑ دیے
مریم نواز کا رجب بٹ کو انصاف کا اعلان”
[Translation: When lawyers assaulted Butt and Nadeem Nani, they beat them severely.
Rajab Butt’s jaw and mouth started bleeding, and his lips were torn.
Maryam Nawaz announced justice for Rajab Butt.]
In the video, CM Punjab says:
“Rajab Butt ko adalat ke bahir, kuch ghatiya wakeelon ne tashadud ka nishana banaya hai jis ki wajah se Rajab Butt ka bohat bura haal hua, aur woh zakhmi hogaye hain. Inn wakeelon ko kis ne ijazat di hai ke tum khud Rajab Butt se hasaab lo. Tum ne Rajab Butt ko Karachi adalat ki bahir jo zulm kiya hai iska tum sab jo wakeel bhi thay hisaab dena paray ga InshaAllah. Wakeelon ka kaam hota hai logon ko insaaf dilwa na na ke qanoon haath mein le lena. Aur ab Rajab Butt mera aap se waida hai aap ko qanooni idaron se zaroor insaaf milay ga. Meri hukoomat Rajab Butt ki ya har mazloom ka saath de gi InshaAllah. Aaj ke baad kisi wakeel ki joorat nahi hogi ke aisi ghatiya harkat karay.”
[Translation: Rajab Butt has been attacked by some despicable lawyers outside the court because of which he is in very bad condition and has been injured. Who permitted these lawyers to take matters into their own hands and settle scores with Rajab Butt themselves? The oppression you committed against Rajab Butt outside the Karachi court including those lawyers, will have to answer for it, God willing. Lawyers’ job is to help people obtain justice, not to take the law into their own hands. And now, Rajab Butt, I promise you that you will definitely receive justice through the legal institutions. My government will stand with Rajab Butt and with every oppressed person, God willing. From today onward, no lawyer will dare to commit such despicable acts.]
YouTuber Rajab Butt attacked
In March 2025, YouTuber Rajab Butt launched his “295” perfume, which sparked controversy.
Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) leader Haider Ali Shah Gillani filed a police complaint claiming Butt’s video insulted religious beliefs and spread “anti-religious content.” Subsequently, the YouTuber was booked under Pakistan’s blasphemy (PPC 295-A) and cybercrime laws (PECA) after launching a perfume named “295”. Butt, who has a large online following and has faced previous controversies, including briefly keeping a lion cub, apologised in a video and discontinued the perfume following the controversy. He said he was not against the blasphemy laws, according to Dawn.
On 29 December 2025, Butt appeared before an additional district and sessions judge in connection with the case stemming from the launch of his 295 perfume, reported The Express Tribune. His bail application was heard. However, the court adjourned the proceedings without issuing any substantive order.
According to people present at the court, an exchange of words broke out immediately after the hearing between Butt and several lawyers at the court premises, according to The Express Tribune. The argument escalated into a scuffle after which Rajab Butt was beaten. His defence lawyers tried to intervene and stop the assault. Following the altercation, Butt was escorted out of the City Court, the report added.
The video being fact-checked appears to have surfaced following the attack on Butt at the court in Karachi.
Fact or Fiction?
The viral clip immediately raised suspicions as the woman does not sound like Maryam Nawaz. The video also contained other audio and verbal inconsistencies, including noticeable shifts in background sound as the speech progressed.
Additionally, Nawaz says, “Tum ne Rajab Butt ko Karachi adalat ki bahir jo zulm kiya hai” [translated literally as: The oppression you committed against Rajab Butt outside the Karachi court], which is grammatically incorrect and does not fully make sense in Urdu. She also mispronounced several words, including hisaab [calculation] as hasaab, waada [promise] as waida and jurrat [courage] as joorat.
Therefore, we conducted a keyword search using the terms “Maryam Nawaz” and “Rajab Butt” to verify whether she had made such a speech following the incident but did not find any credible results.
Soch Fact Check then tested the video using DeepFake-O-Meter, which analysed it using multiple AI-based detection models. The results are as follows:
Deep Fake-O-Meter results
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 82.6% likelihood of the video being fake.
We also 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 99.9%.
Audio forensics analysis:
Shaur Azher, an audio engineer at our sister company Soch Videos, examined the audio of the viral clip. He assessed the authenticity, continuity, and integrity of the audio recording and determined whether it represents a genuine, uninterrupted speech or a manipulated composition.
His observations are as follows:
- Splice cuts and ambience inconsistencies:
Multiple splice points were detected throughout the audio, identified by abrupt changes in ambience, room tone, and vocal texture. These inconsistencies indicate the audio was assembled with multiple segments rather than recorded in a single continuous take.
Detected splice and ambience changes at the following timecodes:
- 00:00:00.000 – 00:00:06.715
Abrupt change in ambience and tonal quality
- 00:00:06.715 – 00:00:13.865
Ambience and tonal quality change
- 00:00:13.865 – 00:00:20.034
Ambience and tonal quality change
- 00:00:20.034 – 00:00:27.204
Ambience and tonal quality change
- 00:00:27.204 – 00:00:33.400
Ambience and tonal quality change with added background music
- 00:00:33.400 – 00:00:41.524
Ambience and tonal quality change
- 00:00:41.524 – 00:00:48.028
Ambience and tonal quality change
- 00:00:48.028 – 00:00:54.780
Ambience and tonal quality change with background music
- 00:00:54.780 – 00:01:03.135
Ambience and tonal quality change
- Tonal instability
i. Vocal tonal quality fluctuates noticeably at each detected splice point.
ii. These fluctuations are inconsistent with natural speech delivery or environmental changes within a single recording session.
iii. The variations strongly indicate cut-and-paste assembly from multiple audio sources or takes.
- AI-related vocal characteristics
i. AI monotone artifacts are observed at several splice points.
ii. These include:
A. Flattened pitch contours
B. Reduced natural prosody
C. Abrupt transitions between expressive and monotone delivery
iii. Such characteristics are commonly associated with AI-assisted voice manipulation or
synthetic interpolation between audio segments.
Azher concluded:
- The examined audio does not represent a continuous or authentic speech recording.
- The presence of repeated splice cuts, inconsistent ambience, tonal instability, and AI monotone artifacts confirms that the audio has been heavily edited and artificially assembled.
- Given the absence of any verified broadcast or original source in which Maryam Nawaz references Rajab Butt, the audio in the claim lacks contextual and forensic authenticity.
Virality
The claim was shared here, here, and here on Facebook. Archived here, here, and here.
On Instagram, it was shared here, here, and here. Archived here, here, and here.
Conclusion: A video of CM Punjab Maryam Nawaz condemning the attack on YouTuber Rajab Butt is AI-generated. It shows clear audio and linguistic inconsistencies, which prove it is fake.
–
Background image in cover photo: The Express Tribune
To appeal against our fact-check, please send an email to appeals@sochfactcheck.com