By: Rajini KG
December 22 2022
Misleading: Video shows chief guest Shah Rukh Khan at the FIFA World Cup 2022 closing ceremony.
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Fact-Check
The Verdict Misleading
The video is from 2018, when the actor inaugurated showrooms for a jewelry brand. Khan was not a chief guest for the final match at the World Cup.
Claim ID 16772c8a
Context
The FIFA World Cup 2022 ended on December 18 with a grand closing ceremony where several celebrities performed. Bollywood actor Deepika Padukone and Iker Casillas, captain of the 2010 World Cup-winning Spanish team, unveiled the trophy before the final match between Argentina and France. Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan also made an appearance at the finale in a live chat show where former English footballer Wayne Rooney also joined him.
Following the actors' presence in the World Cup, many misleading narratives and videos have cropped up on social media. One such post (originally in Hindi) shared a video of Khan at an event claiming that the 57-year-old film star was the chief guest of the FIFA Football World Cup "final live show." Several others shared the 45-second long clip with similar claims, while one Twitter user further claimed that Khan was at the event to promote his upcoming film "Pathaan." In the viral video, Khan comes onstage, greets some people on the podium, and waves to a massive crowd. The title track from Khan's film “Don" can be heard playing in the background.
In Fact
On conducting a reverse image search using one of the video's keyframes, we found that the clip dates back to 2018, when Khan was in Doha, Qatar to inaugurate showrooms for a jewelry brand. We came across a longer version of the video on YouTube posted by the channel "Qbiz Events" on May 20, 2018. The video is 1 minute and 34 seconds long and is titled: "Grand Entry Of Shah Rukh Khan (SRK) At Kalyan Jewellers Opening In Doha - Qatar - Qbiz Events."
YouTube channel of the news outlet "Qatar Tribune" also shared a video of Khan at the inauguration. Khan's outfit, the stage, and the scene match that in the viral video. The description of this video, uploaded on April 27, 2018, reads: "The much-awaited launch of Kalyan Jewellers in Qatar witnessed an unprecedented crowd with Shah Rukh Khan inaugurating the new showrooms."
According to a report published by Qatar Tribune on April 28, 2018, Khan had attended the inauguration ceremony with Kalyan Jewellers chairman and managing director TS Kalyanaraman, executive directors Rajesh Kalyanaraman, and Ramesh Kalyanaraman. At the event, Khan "digitally" inaugurated three showrooms for the jewelry brand. It is hence confirmed that the viral video is from the inauguration of Kalyan Jewellers showrooms in Doha in April 2018 and not FIFA World Cup 2022.
While Khan did promote the film Pathaan at a live chat show in Qatar ahead of the final FIFA World Cup match, the show was held inside a studio where the actor was joined by Rooney and the show's host. Further, there was no mention of Khan being the chief guest on the chat show.
The Verdict
Shah Rukh Khan visited Qatar during the FIFA World Cup to promote his upcoming film, but the video in question is unrelated to his recent presence at a pre-final live chat show. The viral video is from April 2018. Therefore, we are marking this claim as misleading.