Fact-check: AI-generated video of Kasim and Sulaiman Khan's Sky News interview circulates online

After a recent interview of Sulaiman Khan and Kasim Khan, the sons of Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan, aired on Sky News, a clip began circulating online claiming that Kasim Khan had announced his intention to join politics in Pakistan.

The claim is false. Kasim Khan made no such statement during the interview, and the video circulating online has been found to be AI-generated.

Claim

On December 17, a more than 23-second video clip featuring Sulaiman and Kasim Khan was shared online, allegedly showing them responding to journalist Yalda Hakim about what they would do upon meeting their father.

In the clip, Kasim Khan, the younger of the two, is heard saying: “I have heard that they may kill our father. If that happens, we have both decided that we will go back to Pakistan and start active politics to avenge him.”

The clip was shared here:

Similar claims had also been shared here and here.

Fact

Neither Sulaiman Khan nor Kasim Khan made any statement about joining politics in Pakistan during their Sky News interview. Independent verification and multiple AI detection tools confirm that the clip circulating online has been manipulated to create a false impression.

Geo Fact Check reviewed the full 15-minute Sky News interview of Imran Khan’s sons, which aired on December 16.

In the original interview, Yalda Hakim asked the brothers what they would say to their father if they met him during their planned visit to Pakistan in January, and whether they would advise him to strike a deal with authorities to secure his release.

Responding to the question, Kasim Khan actually said: “What you have to understand is his life. It is actually his passion and goal. He calls it his life purpose to help Pakistan and rid it of corruption. And so, if he just took a deal and came over to us and lived in England, I know there would be this kind of burning desire and aching that would show that he has left his country for dead, and he would be depressed, to be honest. I know he would. This is his goal. And we would love to have our father watching all of our football matches and cricket matches here. But he has a purpose far greater.”

The manipulated portion of the viral clip corresponds to the interview segment beginning at the 4:54 timestamp. The full interview can be viewed here.

Geo Fact Check also analysed the viral clip using multiple AI detection tools.

Hive Moderation, an AI content detection platform, assigned the video an aggregated score of 99%, indicating that it is likely AI generated. DeepFake O Meter, developed by the University at Buffalo, gave the video a 99.7%, probability of being fake.

Hiya, a deepfake voice detection tool, rated the audio authenticity at 1 out of 100, suggesting the presence of manipulated or synthetic audio.

Additionally, Kasim Khan’s voice in the online videos has been slowed down, giving it a robotic quality.

Verdict: The video circulating online claiming that Kasim Khan would join politics in Pakistan is manipulated using AI. Neither Kasim Khan nor Sulaiman Khan made such statements in their Sky News interview.

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