ISLAMABAD – Amid imposition of emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and confirmation of Chief Minister Sohail Afridi’s custody, a picture purportedly showing Army and police arresting him surfaced online and is being widely shared on social media.
The viral pic and some clips show Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi being escorted by police and Rangers personnel has been identified as AI-generated, raising fresh concerns about the spread of misleading content amid political uncertainty in the province.
The image circulated widely on social media following reports of emergency measures and governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). Shared alongside demands for Afridi’s release, it appeared to show the chief minister entering a building surrounded by security personnel, prompting some users to believe it was a screenshot from CCTV footage.
Digital verification findings debunked photograph’s reality, with OpenAI’s image-verification tool detecting a SynthID watermark associated with AI-generated content.
The findings suggest that the picture was created using artificial intelligence rather than being a genuine visual record of Afridi’s detention. The watermark detection is a significant indicator of AI generation, although the precise origin of the image would require further verification.
Other detection tools produced inconclusive results. Google’s Gemini SynthID system and Hive Moderation were unable to authenticate the photograph, while Image Whisperer flagged potential signs of manipulation.
The picture surfaced as questions mounted over Afridi’s whereabouts following the political developments in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Several Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders claimed that the chief minister had been taken into custody, but authorities did not immediately confirm the reports. Nearly 30 hours after emergency measures were imposed, the federal government confirmed Afridi’s custody, citing concerns over a potential disturbance of public order.
Against this backdrop, the photograph gained traction, with users sharing it as possible evidence of the chief minister’s whereabouts. Its apparent CCTV-style presentation helped fuel speculation before its authenticity was examined.
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting shared fact-check challenging social media claims about unrest in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, saying some videos circulating online actually originated in Syria and other unrelated locations.
The misleading social media accounts were using AI-generated images, old footage and unrelated videos to portray an exaggerated picture of violence and instability in the province.
The material identified in the ministry’s findings reportedly included footage of factory fires, protests over electricity outages and videos recorded in Syria and other locations. The ministry said these visuals were being shared with misleading captions to make unrelated incidents appear connected to the situation in KP.
The ministry also alleged that Afghan and Indian accounts were amplifying the claims alongside politically motivated social media profiles. It described the activity as evidence of a coordinated propaganda campaign allegedly involving foreign elements.