AI-Dubbed Video Fabricates Interview Confronting Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif
A video using AI-generated audio dubbed over a real interview was fabricated to falsely show Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif being confronted about government spending. The video circulated widely on social media starting March 23, 2025, and fact-checkers confirmed through visual analysis and AI detection tools that the audio was artificially generated and did not match the interviewer's lip movements.
What happened
Starting March 23, 2025, retired army officer and dissident vlogger Adil Raja shared a video on social media depicting an interviewer confronting Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif about government-funded foreign travel. The video was presented in breaking news format with bold overlay text.
Fact-checkers determined the video was dubbed over with AI-generated audio. Visual analysis revealed discrepancies in lip-syncing where the interviewer's voice did not align with her mouth movements. AI-detection tools showed mixed results: Attestiv.ai assigned a 93 percent suspicion rating, ChatGPT's Deepfake Detective determined manipulation with 95 percent certainty, while Deepware found no evidence of tampering.
Reported impact
The video gained significant reach across social media platforms. Adil Raja's initial post received 81,100 views. The video accumulated 589,000 views on TikTok and 60,900 views when shared by another user on X. Multiple users shared the video on X and TikTok.
The fabricated content targeted Pakistan's government leadership and sought to undermine the credibility of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif by falsely depicting him in a critical interview about lavish government spending while the country sought foreign financial assistance.
Index analysis
The fabricated interview falsely depicted the Prime Minister being confronted over contradictions between seeking Saudi Arabian financial aid and funding a delegation for Umrah pilgrimage at government expense. The video lacked details about the alleged interview, including its date, context, or the news outlet it allegedly aired on.
Fact-checkers from iVerify Pakistan analysed the facial movements of the interviewer for discrepancies and conducted reverse image searches to verify the content, ultimately determining the video to be false.
Governance controls
Fact-checkers investigated the viral content due to its widespread dissemination and public interest in scrutinizing government officials' foreign trips. The investigation used multiple AI-detection tools, though results were inconclusive due to software inconsistencies and reliability limitations.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.