Dubai's Burj Khalifa did not display speech by Imran Khan
Dubai's Burj Khalifa did not display speech by Pakistan's ousted leader
(Reuters) A video shared online claiming to show a speech by Pakistan’s ousted prime minister Imran Khan projected onto the world’s tallest building was created using digital special effects. Khan’s speech was not projected on to the Burj Khalifa.
One version of the clip was posted to Facebook on March 24 (here), where it attracted more than 670 shares and 13,000 views.
The footage purportedly shows a speech by Khan being projected onto Dubai’s 828-metre Burj Khalifa, well known for its record-breaking light and sound shows (here). Audio of the address can also be heard in the video, and a superimposed watermark for a Twitter profile called @Noxious_Numaira can be seen bouncing across the screen.
Similar videos can be found on Facebook – where it has been shared and viewed thousands of times – on Twitter and on YouTube.
A spokesperson for Emaar, the property developer that built and owns the skyscraper, told Reuters via email: “This video is not real.”
They also confirmed that there has “never” been an Imran Khan speech projected on to Burj Khalifa.
Additionally, none of the building’s official social media pages feature any footage or evidence of Khan’s image being displayed on the building (Twitter twitter.com/BurjKhalifa, Instagram www.instagram.com/burjkhalifa/ and Facebook www.facebook.com/BurjKhalifa/), neither does its website (www.burjkhalifa.ae/en/).
The Twitter user whose handle is superimposed onto the video also tweeted that the video is not real and that it had been created using visual effects.
Noxious_Numaira wrote: “This is amazing. The video has my Twitter handle watermarked and my YouTube channel is linked. I’ve mentioned in both places that I edit videos/pics. Now if people still think it’s true then I’m the goddess of VFX. It’s not my fault people think it’s real.”
The video can be found on the individual’s Twitter profile and YouTube channel.
Noxious_Numaira’s social media profiles also contain other videos with similar properties.
Reuters found the original of Khan’s address in a Mar. 24 video posted on the verified Facebook page of his political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, which he founded in 1996.
VERDICT
Digitally altered. The video was created using visual effects. Imran Khan’s speeches have never been projected onto the Burj Khalifa.
