Claim: Donald Trump campaigned for the 2024 US Presidential Election by having a video of his meeting with Imran Khan from 2019 displayed on a billboard in Times Square, New York.
Fact: The video is doctored; the billboard originally featured Pakistani YouTuber Saad-ur-Rehman, also known as Ducky Bhai, and his wife, Aroob Jatoi.
Just days before the 2024 US Presidential Election, several social media users shared a video showing a previous meeting of Imran Khan and Donald Trump playing at Times Square. For instance, X user @SabeeKazmi786 shared the video (archive), writing, “خان ایک برانڈ ہے۔۔۔ ڈونلڈ ٹرمپ بھی امریکہ میں خان کی ویڈیوز لگا کر انتخابی مہم چلا رہا ہے”
[Translated from Urdu: “Khan is a brand. Donald Trump is also campaigning in the United States by using videos of Khan”]
The video shows a billboard on Times Square playing a clip from the time former Prime Minister Imran Khan met then US President Donald Trump in July 2019. The claim that it is evidence of Trump campaigning for the 2024 US Presidential Election by using videos of Khan was shared widely across social media platforms.
Trump and Khan
Donald J Trump, the 45th and now 47th President of the United States, is a Wharton School graduate who initially gained fame in real estate, sports, and entertainment, making the Trump name synonymous with prestigious New York properties. Following a high-profile business career, he entered politics in 2015 and won the 2016 presidential election on his first run for office. After his initial term, he returned to the political arena, winning the 2024 presidential election to become the 47th president.
In July 2019, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan met US President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., in a bid to improve strained relations, according to the BBC. Trump discussed the Afghan conflict, adding that Pakistan was helping the US withdraw troops from Afghanistan. He had hoped that Khan would pressure the Taliban into negotiating a peace deal with the Afghan government at the time.
During the meeting, Trump had also offered to mediate in the Kashmir dispute between Pakistan and India, saying he would be willing to help if needed, the BBC reported. The leaders also addressed counter-terrorism, trade, and investment, with Khan emphasising Pakistan’s economic challenges and the need for mutually beneficial ties with the US.
In the lead-up to the 2024 US elections, the Pakistani-American Public Affairs Committee (PAKPAC USA) endorsed Republican presidential candidate Trump., iIn a post on X in October, they wrote that the “legislative coup” against former Prime Minister Imran Khan was carried out under the Biden administration.
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check conducted a reverse image search and found a video posted on 28 October by Pakistani YouTuber Saad-ur-Rehman, commonly known as Ducky Bhai. The video, titled “Time Square Billboard Surprise For Aroob 😱😍 | Emotional ❤️ | Last Day In New York, USA,” shows a Times Square billboard at 13:12 displaying a montage of Rehman and his wife.
Soch Fact Check first noted that the woman in the video in the claim resembled Aroob Jatoi. At the 15:07 mark, the YouTuber records his wife’s reaction to their photos reappearing on the billboard, as she expresses shock and excitement over the surprise arranged by him. Noting that her movements, facial expressions, and hand gestures exactly match those in the video in the claim, we concluded that this part of the video was doctored to include footage of Khan and Trump.
A side-by-side comparison of the two clips revealed that the setting at Times Square, except for the billboard of Khan and Trump, is also identical. The original footage as well as the video in the claim show a Pele outlet in the background, at the bottom right, while the Times Square billboard is flanked by an ad for Cheez Doodles on one side, and an ad for Adidas ‘Anthony Edwards’ on the other.
Additionally, both videos feature the same people standing in the woman’s background: a man with balloons tied to his backpack is visible towards the left of the frame, and another in a blue hoodie stands towards the right, as shown in the screenshots.
The higher saturation and pixelation level of the video in the claim was also more evident once we compared it to the original footage on YouTube. This further confirmed our suspicions that the video showing Khan and Trump was manipulated.
Virality
The claim was shared here, here, here, here, here, and here on X. Archived here, here, here, here, here, and here.
On Facebook, it was shared here, here, here, here, here, and here.
It was also shared on Threads here and here.
The claim was also shared on Instagram here.
Conclusion: Republican candidate and now US President Donald Trump did not have his video with Imran Khan put up on a billboard at Times Square, as part of his presidential campaign. The video in the claim is doctored.
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Background image in cover photo: Trump White House/File/Aaj News
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