Claim: A picture shows Fazlur Rehman sitting in an aeroplane with a bottle of whiskey and a half-filled glass on the armrest beside him.
Fact: The image has been doctored; the original photo does not have anything on the armrest.
On 9 August 2023, the Facebook page ‘PTI Tiger’ posted (archive) a picture with the following caption:
“Molvi Diesel enjoying scotch whisky Black Label
👇👇👇”
The image depicts Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman sitting in an aeroplane, apparently making a phone call, with a square bottle of Jack Daniel’s “Black Label” — a Tennessee whiskey brand — and a half-filled glass on the food tray.
Also read: Woman doctored into selfie of Maulana Fazlur Rehman and son
Fazlur Rehman is thought of as a pious Islamist politician, who is revered by his followers; given that alcohol consumption is prohibited in Islam, the image is considered controversial.
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check reverse-searched the image and found a post (archive) from 15 August 2019 on Facebook page ‘Jamiat Talba Islam bajaur’ with a similar photo. The picture does not show any kind of alcohol on the food tray.
“لیڈر وہ ہوتا ہے جنکی بہادری پر تاریخ لکھی جائے لیڈر وہ نہیں ہوتا جنکی بد کرداری پر بیوی کتابیں لکھے….
[A leader is one whose bravery is written about in history; a leader is not one whose wife writes books about his bad character.]”
Moreover, with regard to the caption “scotch whisky Black Label”, Jack Daniel’s is an American whiskey, while Johnnie Walker is a Scotch whisky, according to Liquor Laboratory and Whiskey Watch. While both have Black Label offerings, the former is manufactured in Lynchburg, Tennessee, whereas the latter in Fife and Glasgow.
Soch Fact Check previously debunked the same photo when it surfaced on social media platforms back in 2020. It was also shared in 2021 falsely portraying Fazlur Rehman as a Taliban leader and was subsequently investigated by AFP Fact Check.
Read more: Old video of Fazlur Rehman passed off as JUI-F chief visiting Thailand
The publication went a step further, identifying the plane as a jet of SAUDIA — the flag carrier of Saudi Arabia — and writing that “the plane’s side tables have a cream-coloured frame and a brown table top”.
According to its website, the airline “does not serve or permit passengers to carry or drink alcoholic beverages on its flights”.
Virality
The post by Facebook page ‘PTI Tiger’ has, as of writing time, gained over 60,000 reactions, 11,000 comments, and 58,000 shares.
Soch Fact Check also observed that most of the viral posts were shared by accounts appearing to lean towards former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, as evidenced here, here, here, here, and here.
We also conducted a CrowdTangle analysis for the 15-day period from 1 August 2023 to 15 August, using the search term “Molvi Diesel enjoying scotch whisky Black Label”. We found more than 100 posts on Facebook that gained over 131,000 interactions.
On X (formerly Twitter), a post (archive) by user @Umair2023_ was viewed upwards of 13,400 times. Other posts can be found here, here, here, here, and here.
Conclusion: The image has been doctored; the original photo does not have anything on the armrest.
Background image in cover photo: Dylan de Jonge
To submit an appeal on our fact-check, please send an email to appeals@sochfactcheck.com