In a bizarre turn of events that has triggered widespread embarrassment, Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Ishaq Dar, quoted a fabricated news report in the Senate to extol the Pakistan Air Force (PAF). The incident, which occurred on Thursday, saw Dar citing a supposed front-page article from the UK-based Daily Telegraph that hailed the PAF as the “undisputed king of the skies.”
Addressing the Senate, Dar confidently stated, “Telegraph writes Pakistan Air Force is the undisputed king of the skies,” amidst apparent approval from other members. However, his claim was swiftly debunked by Pakistani media outlets, notably The Dawn’s iVerify Pakistan team, which conducted a thorough fact-check.
The viral image, which had been circulating on social media platforms since May 10, purported to show the front page of The Daily Telegraph with the laudatory headline regarding the PAF, supposedly in the context of recent tensions with India. The Dawn’s investigation revealed multiple discrepancies within the image, including glaring spelling errors such as “Fyaw…” instead of “Force,” “preformance” instead of “performance,” “Aur Force” instead of “Air Force,” and “advancemend” instead of “advancement.” These typographical mistakes are inconsistent with the editorial standards of a mainstream newspaper.
Furthermore, the layout and formatting of the alleged front page were compared with the official publications of The Daily Telegraph, revealing significant deviations. The fact-checking team conclusively determined that no such article had been published by the UK-based newspaper and that the image was indeed fake, likely generated using artificial intelligence tools.
This incident has drawn considerable criticism and mockery, both within Pakistan and internationally. It is particularly noteworthy as it follows closely on the heels of Operation Sindoor, India’s retaliatory strikes against terrorist infrastructure within Pakistan, which has seemingly led to a surge of misinformation from Pakistani sources.
Several journalists and social media users in Pakistan also highlighted the falsity of the quoted article. Imran Mukhtar, a journalist with The Nation, commented on social media, “How fake news overshadows the truth: Earlier today, Deputy PM & Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar cited this false news, during his speech on the floor of the Senate, to support claims of PAF’s dominance over India. No doubt, the PAF did dominate — but the image in question is fake.”
Another X user, Abdul Wasey Naik, pointed out that “Many credible journalists in Pakistan shared and quoted this image throughout the day, claiming it to be the front page of The Daily Telegraph with the headline ‘Pakistan Air Force: The Undisputed King of the Skies.’ This picture is AI-generated.”
The reliance on unverified social media content by a high-ranking official like the Deputy Prime Minister has raised serious questions about the credibility of information being disseminated by the Pakistani government, especially in the context of sensitive international relations and national security. This is not the first instance of Pakistani officials resorting to unverified claims on social media. Following the recent Indian airstrikes, Pakistan’s Defence Minister had also cited social media as the primary source of evidence for their claims of downing Indian fighter jets, a response that was widely criticized as irresponsible.
The latest episode involving Deputy PM Dar and the fake Daily Telegraph front page underscores the challenges posed by the rapid spread of misinformation in the digital age and the importance of rigorous fact-checking, even within government circles. It also highlights the intense information war that often accompanies periods of heightened tensions between nations.