Claim: Images depict Imran Khan and Richard Grenell in intimate moments, including some showing them getting married.
Fact: These images are either digitally altered or AI-generated.
On 17 December, social users shared photos targeting former prime minister Imran Khan and foreign policy adviser Richard Grenell, who had been appointed by US President-elect Donald Trump as the special missions envoy on 14 December. The images show Khan and Grenell in intimate moments and even purportedly getting married.
This article will investigate the following dubious images that apparently feature Khan and Grenell:
- An image of Grenell with his arm around Khan.
- An X post purportedly showing Khan and Grenell kissing and Grenell writing “Free Imran Khan [pride flag emoji].”
- Images of Khan and Grenell getting married.
- Khan with Trump and Grenell.
Why is social media abuzz with posts targeting Grenell and Khan?
Foreign policy adviser Richard Grenell initially attracted the attention of the Pakistani audience when he wrote on X demanding the release of the former prime minister on 26 November.
Then, after US President-elect Donald Trump appointed him as a special missions envoy on 14 December, he posted about Khan again on 16 December. In his post, which has a staggering 11 million views as of the writing time, Grenell says, “I’ll say it again, @geonews_urdu: Free Imran Khan.” When his post reached 10 million views, he wrote, “This is clearly popular. Free Imran Khan.”
Alongside the post quoting Geo, Grenell shared a screenshot of Geo News’ X post that carried a headline highlighting his sexual orientation. The post by Geo now appears to be deleted. However, the article by Geo that revisited Grenell’s past- including when he faced backlash for his remarks about women, reads [translated from Urdu]: “The first openly gay cabinet member in American history, Richard Grenell, was appointed as Trump’s ambassador.”
Grenell was previously appointed as the acting director of National Intelligence by Trump in 2020. This move was touted as the “first time in American history” when “an openly LGBT person” was leading the intelligence community, according to the Brookings Institution. He previously served as US ambassador to Germany from 2018 to 2020.
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check debunked the following posts and images:
1. An image of Richard Grenell with his arm around Imran Khan
The photo, apparently showing Khan and Grenell standing side-by-side, is captioned [translated by Google]: “Hawks mate with hawks, doves mate with pigeons.” This implies that Khan and Grenell are allies because they hold similar views; however, it’s unclear which views the post points to.
A reverse-search of Grenell’s frame from the photo shows Khan’s face was edited onto the original image.
The original image was posted (archive) by X user @CharlesTMoran on 15 December, after Grenell was appointed as special missions envoy. “There is no better person than my friend @RichardGrenell to serve as @realdonaldtrump ‘s Special Envoy,” he wrote on X.
The photo, which matches the image from the claim and has the same background, actually features Moran himself.
On the left, is an altered image of Khan and Grenell. On the right, is the original image posted by Moran.
Upon closer inspection, in the image featuring Khan, signs of doctoring can be seen around the collar area, where traces of Khan’s neck appear on the collar.
The “RNC 2024” on the straps of the identity cards worn by both indicate the image was taken at the Republican National Convention held in July 2024. At the time, Khan was in jail, ruling out the possibility he attended the RNC.
Soch Fact Check thus concludes the image has been altered.
2. Grenell posted X, “Free Imran Khan” along with an image of the two kissing
The purported X post in the screenshot reads: “I’ll say it again, @geonews_urdu: Free Imran Khan [pride/rainbow flag emoji].” Alongside the post appears this picture of Khan and Grenell kissing each other.
The screenshot of the post shared by the user appears to be doctored and has taken Grenell’s original X post out of context. The original post does say “I’ll say it again, @geonews_urdu: Free Imran Khan.” However, no pride flag appears at the end.
Moreover, Grenell had shared a screenshot of the Geo News’ post mentioned above, which apparently carried an article with the headline “Gay Richard Grenell appointed as Trump’s special envoy.” The post by Geo News Urdu appears to be deleted. However, Geo News and Jang, which is Geo’s sister Urdu publication, did publish articles with similar headlines here and here, which indicates that Geo News Urdu may have deleted their post. This confirms the post in the claim speculating Grenell posted the caption with the pride flag, is fake.
We also reverse-searched the image from the claim that shows Khan and Grenell kissing each other on the cheeks and found an uncropped version of the photo. At the bottom right, we can see the watermark “Grok,” an artificial intelligence chatbot developed by xAI and launched by Elon Musk in 2023. This strongly suggests that the image was created using this AI model.
Moreover, True Media’s AI detection models also returned the verdict of “substantial evidence of manipulation” for the image:
Soch Fact Check, therefore, concludes that Grenell’s post is doctored and the image of Grenell and Khan kissing each other is AI-generated.
3. AI-generated images of Khan and Grenell getting married
X user @AdeelAsifPkOne posted a picture (archive) purportedly showing Khan and Grenell in wedding attire.
The image bears all the signs of being AI-generated. Khan and Grenell’s eyes are barely open, a sign of the software’s failure to generate real human features. The hair texture is also airbrushed, another sign that it is AI-generated.
We can see the watermark “Grok” on the bottom right, which confirms this image was created using X’s AI.
Soch Fact Check also found another version of an image circulating, that shows Khan and Grenell in desi-style wedding clothes, with Khan wearing a dupatta on his head and Grenell a kurta, with a turban to top it off.
This image is also AI-generated, according to InVid and True Media’s AI detection models:
4. An image of Khan, Trump, and Grenell together
An X user @FaiziWithKhan posted a picture of Khan with Trump and Grenell, and wrote (archive): “Congratulations @RichardGrenell thank you for raising your voice for Pakistan & Imran Khan.” In another post this user posted the same picture and wrote: Former Prime Minister Of Pakistan Imran Khan With @RichardGrenell & @realDonaldTrump.”
This image also carries a “Grok” watermark, which confirms that this image was generated by X’s AI model.
Soch Fact Check thus concludes the image is AI-generated.
Virality
The first image appeared on X here, here, here, here.
On TikTok here and Threads here.
The second image showing Grenell and Khan kissing appeared on X here, here, here, here, here.
On Facebook here.
Khan and Grenell’s marriage posts appeared on X here, here, here, here. Other versions appeared here, here, here, here, and here.
The last image featuring Khan, Grenell and Trump appeared here, here, here.
Conclusion: These images of Khan and Grenell are either edited or AI-generated.
Background image in cover photo: Hans India
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