Claim: A video shows Rana Sanaullah engaging in sexual activities with another man.
Fact: The video, which can be traced as far back as at least 2019, does not show Rana Sanaullah and has been wrongly linked to the Pakistani interior minister.
On 1 June 2023, Facebook user ‘Hammad Abbasi’ posted a video (archive) that he claimed shows Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, as well as a member of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz-Nawaz (PML-N), in a compromising position while engaging in sexual activities with another man.
‘Hammad Abbasi’ — who describes himself as a “youth worker at Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf”, or PTI, the party led by former prime minister Imran Khan — captioned the video as follows:
“رانا ثنا ہمارے قومی ہیرو ہیں ۔ وہ پاکستان کو معاشی بحران سے پچانے کے لیے انتھک محنت کر رہے ہیں
[Rana Sana is our national hero. He is working tirelessly to save Pakistan from the economic crisis].”
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check reverse-searched keyframes from the video and found the same video posted on at least two pornographic websites as early as 2019.
Some Facebook posts also contained a screenshot, apparently of a Samaa TV news visual, showing Rana Sanaullah with the following text below it:
“میری ویڈیو مساج سنٹر سے وائرل ہوئی ہے ویڈیو کو غلط رنگ نا دے۔ میں مساج کروانے میں مصروف تھا جو کسی نے پیچھے سے ویڈیو بنائی رانا ثناء اللہ
[My video has gone viral from a massage centre; don’t paint it in the wrong colours. I was busy getting a massage when someone took a video from behind me, Rana Sanaullah]”
However, there are no verifiable reports of such a statement issued by Sanaullah, nor has he written any such thing on his social media accounts.
Soch Fact Check matched Sanaullah’s attire, as well as the background in the Samaa TV news visual, with photographs and YouTube videos from a 22 April 2022 press conference. He can be seen wearing the same suit and tie, with @MOIofficialPK written on the backdrop. Reports from the event can be read here, here, and here.
Virality
The primary post that Soch Fact Check investigated has been viewed more than 876,000 times, as of writing time, having received over 4,300 reactions, 748 comments, and 6,700 shares.
Other videos have received upwards of 7,000 and 4,900 views. The clip — or screenshots from it — was also posted on Twitter.
Conclusion: The video does not show Rana Sanaullah and has been wrongly linked to the Pakistani interior minister. It can be traced as far back as at least 2019, when it was shared on a pornographic website.
Background image in cover photo: @RanaSanaUllahPMLN
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