Fact-check: Deepfake attributes false remarks to Yalda Hakim on Tyrian White

A clip circulating on Pakistani social media allegedly shows Sky News journalist Yalda Hakim stating that Kasim and Sulaiman, sons of incarcerated former prime minister Imran Khan, were prepared to travel to Pakistan but were stopped by Tyrian White, and are unwilling to travel unless Imran Khan agrees to meet her as well.

The claim is untrue. Hakim did not make any such remarks.

Claim

On 10 February, Hina Pervaiz Butt, a member of the Punjab Assembly belonging to the ruling Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz, posted a 59-second video clip on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The video was captioned: “Yalda Hakim has made an interesting claim about why the founder of PTI (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf) has stopped Kasim and Sulaiman from coming to Pakistan and meeting him.”

She further added that after Hakim’s revelation, the PTI’s claim that the government of Pakistan is stopping Kasim and Sulaiman from coming to meet their father has been debunked.

In the alleged footage, Hakim can be heard saying that both Kasim and Sulaiman were ready to go to Pakistan but were stopped by Tyrian White, Khan’s alleged daughter, who also insisted that she wanted to visit her father.

“When the sons contacted Mr Khan, he bluntly refused, saying that it might create an uproar, due to which what we are now hearing is that there is a feud amongst the Goldsmith family, with both Kasim and Sulaiman siding with their sister Tyrian,” Hakim can be heard saying.

At the time of writing, the video had been viewed more than 9,000 times, liked 99 times and reposted 21 times.

Similar claims have also been shared here and here.

Fact

Journalist Yalda Hakim and independent verification confirm that the British presenter did not make any such statement, and the part about Tyrian White was later edited into an actual video of Hakim.

Hakim told Geo Fact Check via messages that the clip circulating online was fake.

Also, Geo Fact Check reviewed the full 1 minute 38-second report by Sky News broadcast on 9 February, in which the journalist speaks about the sons’ application for a visa to Pakistan to visit their father. Nowhere does she mention Tyrian White. The segment circulating online is a deepfake.

Hakim’s original report can be viewed here.

Furthermore, Hive Moderation, an AI-content detection platform, gave the video an aggregated score of 99.8%, indicating that it is likely AI-generated.

Verdict: The viral video is manipulated. In the full report, Hakim did not say that Kasim and Sulaiman Khan changed their decision to visit Pakistan or that they refused to meet Imran Khan.

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