Posts by users critical of the PTI on social media platform X on December 3, 2024, shared a video, claiming that it showed PTI founder Imran Khan allegedly kissing two different women. However, the video is fake and was doctored through the use of AI deepfake technology.
Video of Imran Khan kissing two women
The iVerify Pakistan team has investigated this content and determined that it is false.
To reach this conclusion, the team conducted a reverse image search and keyword analysis to trace the original source of the viral video.
Posts by users critical of the PTI on social media platform X on December 3, 2024, shared a video, claiming that it showed PTI founder Imran Khan allegedly kissing two different women. However, the video is fake and was doctored through the use of AI deepfake technology.
On December 3, an account which appeared to be critical of PTI based on its past posts, shared a post on X with derogatory remarks and allegations against Imran, claiming to share a clip where the former prime minister could be seen allegedly kissing two women.
The post gained 78,100 views. It provided no further details about the video such as its context or date and locations and events where the alleged scenes occurred.
The same video was reposted by another user who also appears to be a PTI critic.
A fact-check was initiated to verify the claim due to the video’s virality, the public’s keen interest in Imran and most importantly, the account sharing the video is known for spreading misinformation and disinformation as can be seen here and here.
A reverse image search using screenshots from the second half of the alleged video led to different images uploaded on Shutterstock, a leading global provider of licensed images, videos, music, and other media.
As per the description of the images, the showed Imran and former British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell attending the “Party to Mark the Fall of Communism” at the Savoy Hotel on October 28, 1990.
A comparison of the images with the alleged video showed that the lady in the black dress was Maxwell, who could be seen standing with Imran at the 0:09-second mark of the video.
In the original image (left), the two can be seen talking to each other alongside a lady in a light green dress. However, the screenshot from the video (right) shows a blur effect focused on the two of them, omitting the lady in the green dress.
Similarly, the first half of the video showed Imran with another lady in a white dress. A reverse image search did not yield a video or image of the alleged scene.
However, the video clearly shows the face of a man in the background being visibly distorted any times with considerable morphing as Imran and the lady exchange a kiss. This suggests the video was doctored and manipulated through the use of AI and deepfake technology since such visual and facial distortions are often found in such videos.
Interestingly, neither a keyword search nor a reverse image search yielded any domestic or international news articles or videos on the alleged scenes or even any scenes featuring Imran without kissing.
This reasonably leads to the conclusion that the videos are not even real and are doctored because if they were true, Imran’s and PTI’s political opponents would have used them long ago to criticise him.
The scene between Imran and Maxwell occurred in 1990, 34 years ago, and yet no video is present of their interactions. This suggests their video clip is generated through AI since technology now exists where images can be fed into AI software to generate short video clips.
This is further supported by the observation that the video contained the user account’s watermark, which is usually added to original creations to denote ownership and identity. This would have not been necessary if the videos were indeed actual surfaced leaks that existed elsewhere.
The claim that a video shows Imran Khan kissing two different women is false.
The video has been doctored and generated through the use of AI deepfake technology which can be seen by the many glaring visual inconsistencies in it, as well as the fact that there is no supporting evidence or videos to prove such incidents occurred, something which is very unlikely for a high-profile public figure as the former athlete, British socialite and prime minister.
