Claim: A viral image claims to depict Pakistani businessman Seth Abid with the Ruler of Dubai Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and the President of UAE, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Fact: The image is doctored. The original photograph of Seth Abid does not include either of the UAE officials.
On 24 September a social media user shared a photograph on Threads with the following caption:
اسمگلنگ کے بادشاہ سیٹھ عابد ایک بار دبئی کے مشہور جوئے خانے میں موجود تھے جہاں وہ ایک شیخ سے جوئے میں کافی بڑی رقم ہار گئے۔
دبئی کے ایک شیخ نے طنزیہ ان کو طعنہ دیتے ہوئے کہا کہ اتنی بڑی رقم ہارنے کے بعد اب دبئی میں زندگی کیسے گزارو گے ؟
تو سیٹھ عابد نے فوراً اس قدر بلند عمارت کی اُوپر والی منزل کے شیشے سے بنائی گئی دیواروں میں ۔۔ باقی تفصیلات کمنٹ میں۔
[Translation: King of smuggling Seth Abid once lost a huge sum of money to a Sheikh in a famous gambling house in Dubai. The Sheikh of Dubai sarcastically asked him how he was going to continue his life in Dubai if he had lost such a big sum of money? In response Seth Abid went up to the tallest building, which has walls made of glass, rest of the details are in the comments.]
The post claims to show that Seth Abid lost his money gambling with a sheikh in Dubai, and when he was asked about how he would make ends meet he gave a response, but the response was not included in the post.
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check found through several reverse image searches that the three men in the photograph are:
- Standing on the left: President of the UAE His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan
- Standing on the right: Vice President, Prime Minister, and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum
- Sitting in the center: Pakistani businessman Seth Abid
Through reverse image search we also found the original image published here and here which only shows Seth Abid sitting on his chair and not sitting next to any sheikhs. The articles from 2022 state that his 62-year old daughter was shot dead in her home in Lahore. The articles also state that Seth Abid died of illness in 2021.
Seth Abid was a gold merchant, billionaire and a philanthropist. He also worked with real estate and it was alleged that his own daughter was shot dead by her adopted son, which brought his life story in the mainstream media in Pakistan in 2022, after his death.
Soch Fact Check can not testify to the fact whether Abid lost a huge sum to a Sheikh in a gambling house in Dubai, but the image shown in the claim is definitely doctored.
Virality
The claim was shared here on Threads.
On Facebook we found that the claim was shared here.
Conclusion: A photograph picturing Pakistani businessman Seth Abid, the ruler of Dubai and the president of UAE is doctored.
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Background image in cover photo: TV9 Bharatvarsh
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