Viral video of US official Richard Grenell praising, calling for Imran Khan’s release

Rating Justification

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

To reach this conclusion, iVerify Pakistan conducted a reverse image and keyword search to find the original clip.

Posts from multiple users on social media platforms since January 3, 2025, shared a clip of US official Richard Grenell praising PTI founder Imran Khan. However, the clip was dubbed over as Grenell’s original speech at the 2024 Republican National Convention focused on US President-elect Donald Trump.

Grenell, Trump’s pick for presidential envoy for special missions, has unexpectedly become a notable figure in Pakistan’s political landscape after frequently posting in Imran’s favour and calling for his release.

His outspoken comments, part of a growing series of statements and posts made over the past couple of weeks, have garnered significant attention in Pakistan, where both the government and the opposition are grappling with the implications of his remarks.

HOW IT STARTED

The iVerify Pakistan team was alerted on Jan 3 about videos on TikTok and on Jan 5 about a post on X and requested authentication for the content.

The videos shared on TikTok, with views of 14,600 and 263,000, shared a clip of Grenell praising and calling for Imran’s release.

The transcript of the video is as follows:

“Gentlemen, today I want to talk to you about a leader who has become a symbol of justice, integrity and service to the people. Not only for his country but also for Imran Khan, this is the man who has dedicated his life to his people, who worked tirelessly to put his nation on the path of progress.

But today, he’s in prison. Why? Because he speaks the truth and stands for what is right. I want to ask everyone: should a leader be punished for his honesty? No, we must all come together and raise our voices.

Free Imran Khan! This is the time for justice. The time for liberating this great leader of the nation so he can once again serve his country. Ladies and gentlemen, remember, history does not forgive those who remain silent. We must speak up, we must stand up and we must ensure that Imran Khan is set free.”

A shorter version of the clip was shared on X on Jan 5 by former anchorperson Sabir Shakir, gaining 120,000 views and 2,900 reshares.

The video was also widely shared by other X users as can be seen here, here and here with a combined total of over 217,000 views.

METHODOLOGY

A fact-check was initiated to verify the claim due to its high virality, keen public interest in Imran and Grenell at a time when the latter is gaining popularity in Pakistan for his remarks and to satisfy the public’s query seeking authentication for the content.

Closely observing the video showed that the audio did not align with Grenell’s pace of speech and the the delivery of the words was out of sync with his lips, an issue all too commonly seen in videos dubbed over and edited through the use of AI voiceovers.

One of the TikTok accounts that shared the video was named “imrankhanaivideo” and featured other AI-generated videos of Grenell and Trump talking about Imran. The videos featured the watermark of the Dreamface AI application.

A reverse image and keyword search did not yield any insights about where Grenell made his alleged address or any news reports covering his speech in Imran’s favour.

However, a YouTube video was found titled “WATCH: Richard Grenell speaks at 2024 Republican National Convention | 2024 RNC Night 3” by PBS NewsHour.

The 4:21-minute video was uploaded on July 18, 2024, and showed Grenell speaking at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, focusing on foreign policy and national security.

A comparison of screenshots from both videos within the same time frame shows that they are the same.

The following is the transcript of Grenell’s speech from the 1:35-minute mark of the YouTube video, the same part used in the viral dubbed clip:

“Donald Trump doesn’t care if you’re gay or straight, black, brown, or white, or what gender you are. He knows that we are all Americans and that it’s time to put America first.

After 16 years of wars and chaos, the world looked different when President Trump was in the White House. Russia invaded Ukraine under both Obama and Biden, but Putin did not dare escalate under President Trump. Under Trump, China was challenged, the Balkans were more peaceful and the Middle East signed his historic peace deals.”

FACT-CHECK STATUS: FALSE

The claim that a viral video clip shows US official Richard Grenell praising and calling for Imran Khan’s release at a convention is false.

The original video clearly shows that he was praising Donald Trump and the viral video was dubbed over through the use of AI.

Evidence and References

July 18, 2024, YouTube video of PBS NewsHour:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyauqpSzh3U