By: Rajini KG
May 12 2023
No, actor Akshay Kumar has not condemned former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s arrest
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Fact-Check
The Verdict False
A 2019 video of Kumar has been digitally edited and falsely linked to claim he is speaking against Khan's arrest.
Claim ID a4430a8b
Context
On May 9, 2023, former Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan was arrested under charges of corruption. After his arrest, there were nationwide protests andsocial media witnessed a surge in false images, videos, and narratives.
A user named MeherUddin Ali, posted a video on Twitter showing Indian actor Akshay Kumar saying he supports Khan and urging people to stand with him. The video also had the Pakistan flag, Imran Khan's portrait, and text reading "Free Imran Khan" overlaid on it. The post garnered 3,434 likes and 57,100 views.
Another user, Afzaal Abbasi, shared this video on May 10 and wrote in Urdu: "Akshay Kumar also spoke against the illegal arrest of my captain and gave a message to Pakistanis." Many others shared these videos on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.
However, the claim is false. An old video of Kumar has been digitally altered to show he is supporting the former prime minister.
In Fact
Logically Facts examined the two viral clips and found the video and the audio were out of sync. Through a keyword search, Logically Facts was able to locate the original video on the YouTube channel of the fitness company called GOQii.
The original video was published on November 22, 2019, and is titled "Akshay Kumar Talks About the GOQii Vital ECG and Heart Health." In the first eleven seconds, the frames match the ones in the video posted by MeherUddin Ali, and from 0:24 to 0:36, we can locate the other video uploaded by user Afzaal Abbasi.
However, in the original video, Kumar is endording a brand. A fan page of the actor had also posted the original video on Twitter on November 22, 2019. Kumar makes no mention of Khan. There are no reports or evidence to indicate the actor made any statement on the arrest.
The Verdict
Clips from a four-year-old video of Kumar speaking about a fitness band has been given a false voiceover to portray that he is supporting Khan. Therefore, we are marking this as false.