New Zealand commentator Simon Doull did not make statement equating living in Pakistan to being in jail

By: Annet Preethi Furtado
April 20 2023

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Context

Several Twitter and Koo users have circulated an image of Simon Doull, a New Zealand cricket commentator, falsely claiming that he said that "living in Pakistan is like living in jail.” The image is labeled as ''Breaking News," with the Geo News logo. The posts claim that Doull made the alleged comments following his commentary on the Pakistan Super League (PSL) that took place from February to March 2023. The alleged quote goes on to say Doull “was not allowed to go out as Babar Azam fans were waiting for me. I endured days without food and was subjected to mental torture, but by the grace of God, I managed to escape from Pakistan."

Reports from other media outlets, such as Republic World and OpIndia, reported on Doull's alleged comments and added that Doull had criticized the Peshawar Zalmi captain Babar Azam during the competition for slowing down near his century. Doull is currently a prominent member of the commentary panel for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023, providing expert insights and analysis during the matches, and was part of the commentary team for the PSL.

In Fact

Upon an investigation of the image, we found that the viral photo of Doull was actually taken during an IPL match, as he is seen holding a microphone with an IPL logo.

In response to the widespread traction of the alleged statement on social media, Doull posted on his official Instagram account to deny the authenticity of the remark. He posted the viral image with a text overlay that reads "FAKE NEWS." In the caption to the photo, Doull wrote “it’s sad when so called news channels publish false stories that are made up from fake social media accounts. Please note Absolutely None of this is true. I loved my time in Pakistan and also love my time in India. Stop the hatred and vitriol towards one another please. And stop publishing this for your own agenda you sad people.”

Pakistani cricket journalist Saj Sadiq contacted Doull, Tweeting "he says that he absolutely loved his time in Pakistan."

Furthermore, Geo News has refuted any involvement in the creation or dissemination of the post, as well as the comments attributed to Doull.

The Verdict

Simon Doull has refuted the alleged statement attributed to him that compares living in Pakistan to living in jail and has dismissed it as fake news. Moreover, there is no evidence that Geo News broadcasted the comments purportedly made by Doull and the media outlet has also refuted it. Therefore, we have marked the claim as false.