Caller did not insult PM during live telephone session

Claim: A video circulating on Facebook allegedly shows a live caller insulting Prime Minister Imran Khan during a national live TV session hosted by Khan on 4 April 2022.

Fact: The video is doctored. The original video features a live caller praising Imran Khan and approving of the prime minister’s handling of the current political situation.

On 4 April 2022, a Facebook user posted a video from a live telephonic session with Prime Minister Imran Khan. The session was part of the prime minister’s running program titled “Aap Ka Wazir-E-Azam Aap Kay Sath”, which features Khan answering questions posed by the public on live calls. Previous sessions of telephonic sessions are available on Youtube.

The video in question shows a man named Yaqoob Qureshi calling into the session and insulting Khan over his handling of the current political situation. The caller asks Imran Khan why he did not face the no-confidence motion and instead opted to run away.

Fact or Fiction?

The video in question was shared on Facebook with an Urdu caption: (ہاں بھئی اور کرو لائیو کالز ابھی کہاں ابھی تو پارٹی شروع ہوئی ہے

Soch Fact Check found that the video is doctored. A search of selected keywords on Youtube turned up a video of the original hour-long telephonic session which can be viewed here. The original video was posted to City 42’s official channel. In it, the caller is can be heard praising Imran Khan and expressing his support for the prime minister’s handling of the current political situation.

Mehreen Zahra-Malik, a journalist and former Reuters correspondent in Pakistan retweeted the doctored video on Twitter for verification by Faisal Javed, PTI member and spokesperson, who is also present in the video). Mr Javed then confirmed that the video clip is fake.

Virality

A CrowdTangle analysis of the Urdu caption of the video in question showed that the doctored video garnered 77,000 interactions across 27 public posts between 4 and 6 April 2022 on Facebook.

The video was first shared by Facebook user Khalid Mehmood on 4 April 2022 at 5:28 PM. The video was also shared with the same caption here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here on different user’s political pages and public accounts on Facebook.

The video was also shared with the same caption here, here, and here on Twitter.

Conclusion: A video allegedly showing Yaqoob Qureshi insulting the prime minister during a live telephonic session is doctored. The original video in fact shows the calling praising Khan.