AI Visuals Of Pak, Bangladesh Flags Linked To Dhruv Rathee's Anti-SIR Protest
BOOM found that the images showing Pakistani and Bangladeshi flags were AI-manipulated or generated,
AI-generated photos and an unrelated video are being shared on social media with false claims linking them to an anti-Modi and anti-SIR protest in London led by YouTuber Dhruv Rathee.
Several social media handles, including BJP Delhi, shared the visuals claiming that Pakistani and Bangladeshi nationals participated in the protest and carried their respective national flags.
BOOM found that the claims are false. The image of Saddam Hussain Makrani was digitally manipulated to replace the iPhone in his hand with a Pakistani flag. Makrani has also denied the claim.
The Claim:
One of the viral photos shows a man identified as Saddam Hussain Makrani purportedly holding a Pakistani flag. Another shows a group of young men draped in Bangladeshi flags and speaking to the media. The viral photos were posted by the official handle of Delhi BJP.
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Content creators Abhi and Niyu also shared the image of Saddam Hussain Makrani, claiming that he was Pakistani.
A video is being shared with the similar claim shows people waving Pakistani flags alongside the Indian tricolour during a performance of the song Jai Ho.
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What We Found:
1. Photo of Saddam Hussain Makrani with Pakistani flag is digitally manipulated
BOOM found the original photograph of Saddam Hussain Makrani on Instagram. In the original image, Makrani is holding an iPhone, not a Pakistani flag. His Instagram account has since been deactivated.
Rathee also refuted the viral claim and shared a screenshot from Makrani’s account showing the original photograph.
In a video response, Makrani said that he is an Indian citizen and has been living in the United Kingdom for the past six years. Refuting BJP Delhi’s claim, he said that a five-year-old photograph of him had been edited to make it appear as though he was holding a Pakistani flag.
We also checked the manipulated image using OpenAI’s image verification tool. The results indicated that the image contained OpenAI’s SynthID watermark, showing that OpenAI’s AI tools had been used to edit the image.
2. Image showing Bangladeshi flags is AI-generated
We also found that the image of the young men wearing the Bangladeshi flag is not real. It was also created using OpenAI's AI tools.
Two other photos shared by BJP Delhi are from the same protest. In one, a man is seen carrying a flag from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) .
3. Video showing Pakistani flags is old and unrelated
We found several videos featuring the same people on the Instagram account of Pakistani-origin singer Aamir Hashmi, posted in August 2026.
According to one of Hashmi’s posts, the event took place at Piccadilly Circus in London on August 15, 2026, to mark the Independence Days of India and Pakistan.
The same people seen in the viral video can be spotted in these posts, confirming that the footage predates the recent protest and is unrelated to it.
