Claim: A clip from the ARY News talk show ‘The Reporters’ was shared with an Urdu caption that translated into English reads as, “On the no-confidence motion, Saudi Arabia’s Prince Mohammed bin Salman conveyed a message to Pakistan’s ruling elite that if Imran Khan was removed, it would be to the detriment of the entire Muslim Ummah, not of Pakistan. Khan at this time represents the Muslim Ummah all over the world…! At the same time, Russia also supported Imran Khan.” The full Urdu caption can be seen below.
عدم اعتماد کی تحریک پر سعودی عرب کے پرنس محمد بن سلمان نے پاکستان کے مقتدر حلقوں کو پیغام پہنچا دیا کہ عمران خان کو اگر ہٹایا گیا تو یہ پاکستان کی نہیں پوری امت مسلمہ کا نقصان ہوگا اس وقت وہ ایک امت مسلمہ کا لیڈر بن کر ابھرا ہیں اور امت مسلمہ کا نمائندگی پوری دنیا میں کرتا ہیں….! اور ساتھ ہی روس نے بھی عمران خان کی حمایت کی ھے.
#WeStandWithImranKhan
Fact: The caption of the video is misleading as the clip in question does not contain any mention of Saudi Arabia and/or Russia. The video features ARY News anchor Sabir Shakir talking about an interview in which Maulana Fazal ur Rehman, the acting president of the Pakistan Democratic Movement, suggests US President Joe Biden should be asked for advice on how to properly run a country.
Fact or Fiction?
On 13 March 2022, fan page Hamza Ali Fans posted a Facebook video with a caption describing Saudi Arabia’s Prince Mohammed bin Salman message to Pakistan’s ruling elite that if Imran Khan were to be removed, it would be to the detriment of the entire Muslim Ummah.
However, the video is not related to any such statement. The video in question is a clip from the ARY News talk show ‘The Reporters’ in which the host Mr Sabir Shakir talked about an interview in which Maulana Fazal ur Rehman spoke about the PDM and suggested that US President Joe Biden should be asked for advice on how to properly run a democratic country.
Soch Fact Check decided to fact check Hamza Ali Fans’ post after it was flagged by multiple users on Facebook. The caption is misleading as it does not accurately reflect the contents of the video.
Soch Fact Check found that the caption was first shared here by Sadiq Afridi on 13 March 2022 with a different video.
In Sadiq Afridi’s post, the caption does indeed relate to the contents of the video. However, it is important to note that there is no proof that Prince Salman and the Russian authorities have made the alleged statements in support of Imran Khan.
Virality
A CrowdTangle analysis of the Urdu caption shows that the video in question garnered 1,50,000 across 430 posts during the 30 day period between 26 February and 28 March 2022.
The video was first shared here on the political page of Ishtiaq Ahmed (member of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, PTI). That post received 68,000 likes, 6,000 comments and 2,900,000 million views.
The video with the misleading caption was also shared here and here on Facebook.
Conclusion: In the clip of an ARY News talk show being circulated online, the anchor did not talk about an alleged message from the Saudia Arabian Prince to Pakistan’s ruling elite. The caption is misleading as it does not reflect the contents of the video. The video in question features an interview with Maulana Fazal ur Rehman where he discussed the PDM and seeking advice from US President Joe Biden.