Video shows traffic jam in Pakistan on independence day, not ‘Khan supporters attending rally’
The false posts emerged as thousands of Khan’s supporters gathered in Islamabad’s Sangjani area in support of Khan despite the authorities’ efforts to block major roads leading to the capital (link saved).
The protest, led by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, was the largest in the capital since the retired cricketer was arrested on several charges in 2023, some of which are still before the courts.
Khan maintains that the charges against him are designed to prevent him from returning to office.
The same video with the same false claim has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times here and here on X; and here and here on Facebook.
However, the clip predates the PTI meeting by a few weeks.
Independence Day Celebrations
A reverse image search of the video’s keyframes found the same image was posted on Facebook on August 14, 2024 as Pakistan marked its 77th year of independence (archived link).
It was published with the caption: “People celebrating Independence Day are stuck in traffic for hours due to poor management. In some countries the authorities plan for large crowds in advance. We wish you a Happy Independence Day”.
The video also contained the watermark of local videographer Jamil Khan Akhunzada, who told AFP he filmed it at Chattar Top, a mountainous area 104 kilometers from Sangjani on August 14.
Below is a screenshot comparison of the fake post (left) and his original Facebook reel (right):
Several buildings in the video can be seen on satellite images of the area on Google Maps, as shown in the screenshot comparison below (archived link):
Akhunzada posted a similar video on his TikTok account on August 15 (link saved).
AFP has debunked false claims about a PTI rally in September 2024 here and here.
