Claim: Spectators at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium chanted against the Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar, calling him a thief [“chor chor”], when the camera focused on him.
Fact: Tarar did not face derogatory chants at the stadium. The video’s original audio was replaced with manipulation.
A video (archive) shared on Facebook shows Attaullah Tarar watching a cricket match at a stadium. The video contains the following Urdu text:
“میچ کے دوران تماشائیوں نے عطا تارڑ کو دیکھ کر چور چور کے نعرے شروع کردی۔ وہاب ریاض ہنستے ہوئے شرم سے اٹھ کر چلا گیا”
[Translation: During the match, spectators started chanting “chor chor” upon seeing Atta Tarar. Wahab Riaz, laughing, got up and left out of embarrassment.]
The video is captioned:
“وہاب ریاض ہنستے ہوئے شرم سے اٹھ کر چلا گیا عطا تارڑ سے 😂😂
اوقات دیکھ لو چور 😂😂
راولپنڈی کرکٹ اسٹیڈیم میں عطا تارڑ کے ساتھ نورے والی ہوگئی، لوگوں نے عطا تارڑ کو سکرین پر دیکھ کر پورا اسٹیڈیم چور چور کے نعروں سے گونج اٹھا!!! 😂”
[Translation: Wahab Riaz, laughing, got up and left Atta Tarar out of embarrassment 😂😂
Look at the situation, ‘chor’ 😂😂
At Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, during Atta Tarar’s moment, the entire stadium echoed when people chanted ‘chor chor’ after seeing Atta Tarar on the screen!!! 😂]
In the accompanying video, spectators can be heard whistling, hooting, and chanting “chor chor.”
Attaullah Tarar is a member of PML-N from constituency NA-127 (Lahore-XI). He served as a special assistant to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif when his party led the ruling coalition from April 2022 to August 2023. Currently, he holds the position of Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting, National Heritage and Culture.
Fact or Fiction?
If the Information Minister had been faced with derogatory chants at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, it would have been widely reported in the media. Therefore, we searched for news reports using the terms “Atta Tarar” and “Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.” While we did not find any reports about Tarar facing derogatory chants at the stadium, a report by the Associated Press of Pakistan revealed that the minister attended the final match of Bahria Town Champions T20 Cup on 25 December 2024. The article carried an image of Tarar handing the trophy to the winning team Stallions’ captain Muhammad Haris.
According to The Express Tribune, the Stallions defeated the Markhors by 75 runs. The Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting distributed prizes among the players at the post-match ceremony, the report added.
The audio in the video seemed suspicious due to several inconsistencies. Individual voices from a large crowd are typically not audible during live television broadcasts. The “chor chor” chant seems to come from a single person suggesting that the audio might have been manipulated or replaced.
Considering that the entire video was shot from an aerial view, it was definitely not filmed with a phone. This type of footage is shown by broadcasters with rights to air the cricket matches, and, therefore it should have included commentators’ voices. However, they are absent in this video.
One of our team members from Soch Videos, who watched the entire match, also informed us that nothing of the sort happened.
According to Shaur Azher, an audio engineer at Soch Videos, this is a clear case of audio replacement. “While there is no specific information about the microphones used at the stadium, if the International Cricket Council (ICC) has approved them according to international standards and regulations, they are likely among the following: Sennheiser Microphone Dynamic (MD) 42/MD 46, Shure Studio Microphone 7B (SM7B), Electro-Voice RE20, Neumann Broadcast Condenser Microphone (BCM) 705/BCM 104, and Sennheiser Headset Microphone Dynamic (HMD) 26.”
Azher explained that for a broadcast scenario, the Sennheiser HMD 26 headset or a close-range dynamic microphone, such as the Electro-Voice RE20 or Shure SM7B, would be the most suitable choices. However, no microphone can isolate distant voices in a stadium filled with noise without advanced post-processing, he added.
Advanced post-processing refers to the use of sophisticated software and techniques to enhance audio after it has been recorded. In the context of a noisy stadium, this means using tools like noise reduction, equalisation, and AI-based processing to separate the commentator’s voice from the background crowd noise.
A stadium crowd of 27,000 people can generate noise levels between 90 to 110 decibels (dB) of sound pressure level (SPL) during peak cheering. Under such conditions, it is impossible for a microphone to clearly pick up one or two individuals shouting “chor” without deliberate audio manipulation, Azher concluded.
Given that such an incident was not reported, as well as the audio analysis by the sound engineer at Soch confirms that audio in the viral video is manipulated.
Virality
The video gained significant traction on Facebook receiving over 97,000 likes and over 9,000 shares. It was shared here, here, here, here, here, and here. Archived here, here, here, here, here, and here.
On Instagram, it was shared here and here.
Conclusion: The claim that spectators chanted against Attaullah Tarar at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, calling him a thief [“chor chor”], is false. Audio analysis and the absence of credible news reports confirm that the video’s audio was manipulated.
–
Background image in cover photo: Pakistan Today
To appeal against our fact-check, please send an email to appeals@sochfactcheck.com