Posts from multiple users on social media platform X since November 28, 2024, were criticising journalist Matiullah Jan and saying he was drummed out of the army while sharing a video showing him being dishonourably discharged from a military academy. However, the video is edited with AI and is originally from a television serial.

Jan was booked in a terrorism and narcotics case on Nov 28 after reportedly being detained in Islamabad the prior night, with his son alleging “unknown individuals” had abducted the journalist.

He was remanded for two days in police custody amid demands for his release. Jan was released on bail on Nov 30.

On Nov 28, an account, that appeared to be a PTI critic and pro-government and pro-military based on its past posts, made a post on X with various derogatory remarks and allegations against Jan, saying that he was expelled from the Pakistan Military Academy (PMA) due to character issues.

The post also shared a video titled: “Matiullah Jan thrown out of PMA on bad character”, which showed Jan in an army cadet’s uniform being stripped of his rank and discharged.

The post gained over 200,000 views and was reshared 169 times. It did not offer any other details on the video or address whether it was real, leaked, fictional or whether it was meant to be a representative and illustrative video.

The video was also shared in posts by a PML-N supporter and a pro-military user, with the former saying the video was of Jan being drummed out from the PMA due to his character faults.

A screenshot from the video was also shared with the same disparaging comment about Jan by media person Wajahat Kazmi, who is a PTI critic, and a pro-military account.

Meanwhile, several users and prominent journalists, as can be seen here, here, here and here, were sharing a screenshot and an alleged video segment from media outlet Suno News containing the same visuals of Jan as from the viral video and the same allegations regarding his history with the PMA. The journalists criticised the outlet for airing the alleged content about Jan.

Journalist Naimat Khan also included a link to a post from Suno News, which has since been deleted.

The alleged video was not found on the media outlet’s social media pages or accounts.

A fact-check was initiated to verify the claim due to its virality, criticism by the journalist fraternity and the public’s keen interest in matters related to the senior reporter’s arrest.

Analysing the viral video of Jan at the PMA glaringly showed the logo of the entertainment channel HUM TV which airs dramas and serials.

A combination of reverse image and keyword searches for “military”, “drama” and “HUM TV” showed that Jan’s video, showing a PMA cadet being expelled, originates from the 16th episode of drama serial ‘Ehd-e-Wafa’.

The scene in question can be seen from the 7:32-minute mark. The episode was uploaded to the outlet’s YouTube account on January 5, 2020.

Comparing screenshots from the two videos — the viral video and the other from HUM TV — showed that the viral video was edited with the help of artificial intelligence at the 26-second timestamp as the officer’s face distorted at that moment, switching between the original face and Jan’s imposed face. However, no such distortion was observed in the same scene from the drama serial.

Furthermore, the hand movement of the officer removing the badges was noticeably blurred in the viral video, whereas it was completely clear in the original video.

Factcheck platform iVerify Pakistan also reached out for comment to Suno News regarding the video and the source of Jan’s visuals used in the alleged video segment but has yet to receive a response.

Therefore, the fact-check determined that the claim that a video allegedly shows Jan being drummed out from the PMA is false. The original video is a scene from HUM TV‘s drama serial ‘Ehd-e-Wafa’ that has been edited through the use of AI to impose Jan’s face over the original actor’s.

Sharing such a video without providing details about its original context or clarifying the context in which it is being used has the potential to misguide the public into thinking the video is an actual video of Jan when that is not the case.

This fact check was originally published by iVerify Pakistan — a project of CEJ and UNDP.