Social shares of media reports that Imran Khan is ready to apologise

Rating Justification

The iVerify Pakistan team has reviewed this content and determined that it is false.

To reach this conclusion, the iVerify Pakistan team conducted a reverse image search to verify if the respective media outlets reported or shared anything of the sort.

Multiple posts on social media platform X since June 25, 2024, were circulating social shares from media outlets, claiming that PTI founder Imran Khan is ready to apologise. However, the social shares were fake and fabricated.

Imran is currently incarcerated in Adiala Jail, serving out his sentence in the Iddat case. Imran’s talks with a limited number of reporters and journalists at the prison after court hearings are the sole avenue whereby his thoughts and comments are transmitted to the public, apart from what his associates and relatives tell the media after their own meetings. Imran had a similar exchange with the media on June 25, after a hearing of the Iddat case.

On May 7, Inter-Services Public Relations Director General Maj-General Ahmed Sharif had stated that any dialogue with the PTI could only occur if the party publicly apologised for the events and riots of May 9 last year and promised to adopt constructive politics instead of politics of anarchy.

However, Imran has refused to apologise for the events of May 9, saying that he was under detention at the time and unaware of the protests. He has maintained that he had already condemned the violent events.

HOW IT STARTED

On June 25, 2024, a screenshot from media outlet Hum News was shared by a PML-N supporter on X.

The caption said, “Breaking News: PTI founder is ready to apologise. Imran Khan’s informal conversation with journalists in Adiala Jail.”

The post gained over 130,000 views.

The alleged screenshot showed the outlet’s correspondent Faizan Khan.

A similar post was shared by noted comedian Mustafa Chaudhary on X.

He posted a social share supposedly from digital news outlet Siasat.pk that attributed a quote to Imran. The quote in the share said: “Ready to apologise to the state.”

That post gained over 123,000 views.

Similar claims with similar captions were also shared by other X users here, here and here, gaining over 29,000 views.

METHODOLOGY

A fact check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its virality and keen public interest in the matter since it pertained to Imran and the alleged change in his stance to apologise to the state.

A reverse image search was conducted to verify if Hum News and Siasat.pk had shared such news but the former did not air any such news ticker and not did the latter have any social share present on its online handles.

Upon further investigation, a June 25 X post was found of the same correspondent who was featured in the Hum News screenshot.

The senior reporter denied airing such news and said, “I and my organisation Hum News did not give any such news. This is a fake and false news that is being tweeted by PML-N. I have the authority to take legal action for tweeting false news attributed to me.”

Similarly, Siasat.pk also addressed Chaudhary’s post the same day and said, “Please be aware that this fake image is circulating with our logo. This image is not from us, and we urge you not to share it.”

Furthermore, Imran’s official X account also posted a statemet with his message from prison for the nation.

Perusing the content of the message showed no apparent change in the PTI founder’s stance and no mention or any indication of readiness for an apology to the state.

FACT-CHECK STATUS: FALSE

The claim regarding reporting and social shares by media outlets of Imran expressing his willingness to apologise to the state while conversing with reporters is false.

The outlets did not air or report any such developments, the images and screenshots circulating online of their allegedly doing so are fake and fabricated and furthermore, there is no hint of any apology in Imran’s June 25 message on X.

Evidence and References

June 25, 2024, X post of Hum News reporter Faizan Khan:
https://perma.cc/4GJB-5VPL

June 25, 2024, X post of Siasat.pk:
https://perma.cc/4A84-LGF6