Authors
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
Claim
Latest update on Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan from hospital.
Archive copy of the tweet can be seen here.
Indian news major NDTV was also among the media outlets that shared the same image, linking it to the recent attack on Khan.
An archive version of another tweet by NDTV carrying the same image can be seen here.
The Guardian also used the same image of Khan in a report on the alleged assassination attempt on the Pakistan leader. It’s archived version can be seen here.
Indian news major Times of India featured the viral image of Imran Khan in it’s print edition dated November 4, 2022. The same can be seen below.
Fact check:
On conducting a reverse image search on the viral image, Newschecker was led to an article published in The Hindu in August 2014. The article, titled “Imran ready for ‘final match’ with Nawaz”, carried tweets by the ousted Prime Minister where he called for the resignation of then PM Nawaz Sharif after cleric Tahirul Qadri issued a 48-hour ultimatum to the latter to step down.
One of the tweets by Imran Khan showed Imran Khan lying in a bed with white bedspread, wearing a black kurta, matching the viral image claiming to show Khan being taken to the hospital. The tweet was captioned ‘Night at the dharna’. Khan was protesting against alleged rigging of polls the previous year and had started a rally from Lahore to Islamabad. The image shows Khan at the camping site.
Hence we can conclude that the viral image claiming to show the latest update of Imran Khan from hospital is actually 8 years old.
Result: False
Sources
Report on Imran Khan’s protest by The Hindu, dated 17th August 2014
Tweet by Imran Khan dated 17th August 2014
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Authors
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
