One ordinary morning in Rawalpindi, fifty-year-old Tariq Mahmood sat in his living room, scrolling through WhatsApp messages. Among the usual flood of family videos, political jokes, and forwarded memes, one video caught his attention.
It showed a prominent national leader confessing to corruption on camera. The gestures, the voice, the background — everything looked real. Without hesitation, Tariq forwarded it to several groups, adding, “Finally, the truth is out!”
A few hours later, a fact-checking website revealed the video was fake — a deepfake created using artificial intelligence to mimic the leader’s face and voice. Tariq was stunned. “But I saw it with my own eyes,” he said.
That’s the tragedy of our time: we now live in an era where even our eyes and ears can deceive us.
The World of Eyes-Seen and Ears-Hard Lies
We inhabit a world where truth and falsehood coexist in pixels and soundwaves. Once, lies were spoken — now, they are shown and heard.
This is the digital age of deception, where AI-generated images, cloned voices, and synthetic videos can fabricate reality with terrifying precision.
Fake images can place people in locations they’ve never visited. Artificial voices can make them say things they never said. Entire videos can be built from scratch, blurring the boundary between real and fake.
In this world, seeing is no longer believing.
A Global Crisis of Truth
This crisis extends far beyond Pakistan. Around the world, synthetic media has become a tool of manipulation — from the 2016 U.S. elections to conflicts in the Middle East.
In developing nations, where digital literacy is still low, the damage is often greater. In Pakistan, misinformation spreads faster than fact-checks can catch it. Political propaganda, religious claims, and conspiracy theories flow freely across WhatsApp groups, TikTok feeds, and Facebook timelines.
A 2024 Digital Rights Monitor Pakistan study found that over 70% of social media users forward content without verifying it, and more than half said they believed it simply because it “looked real.”
The Anatomy of Digital Lies
Artificial intelligence now allows anyone to create hyper-realistic faces, clone voices, and generate videos in minutes. Tools like DeepFaceLab and ElevenLabs make it easy for even untrained users to fabricate convincing deepfakes.
A fake video of a celebrity or politician can be produced in under an hour — often so realistic that only forensic experts can spot it.
The frightening part? Anyone with a smartphone can do it.
In this new digital ecosystem, truth has become optional, and doubt, essential.
When Lies Go Viral
“Fake news spreads faster than real news because it’s more exciting,” explains journalist and digital analyst Sana Javed.
“It triggers emotions — anger, fear, amazement. Algorithms love that. The more people react, the more the system promotes it.”
Social media thrives on engagement, not accuracy. A sensational falsehood can reach thousands before a fact-checker even notices. By the time the truth emerges, opinions are already formed.
This makes misinformation not just a media issue but a psychological and cultural crisis.
The Social Cost of Believing Lies
When false rumors target politicians, they damage reputations. But when aimed at vulnerable groups — women, minorities, or schools — they can spark chaos.
In 2023, a doctored audio clip claimed a Lahore school was teaching “anti-religious material.” Within hours, protests erupted. Investigations later confirmed the clip was AI-generated.
Such incidents reveal how fragile public trust has become. Lies no longer stay online — they spill into the streets, fueling outrage, violence, and division.
The Family and the Forward Button
Perhaps the saddest truth is how ordinary people unknowingly fuel misinformation.
A well-meaning aunt sharing a “medical tip,” a cousin posting a “breaking news” video, or a friend forwarding a “leaked audio” — all may act in good faith. Yet collectively, they feed an ecosystem built on deception.
Each forward may seem small, but together, they form a tsunami of falsehood shaping public opinion and behavior.
Journalism in the Shadow of Fake Reality
Even professional journalists struggle to navigate this new landscape.
“Verification has become the most important skill in journalism,” says Dr. Farooq Malik, professor of media studies at NUML Islamabad.
“We used to say, ‘If your mother says she loves you, check it out.’ Now, we say, ‘Even if you see your mother say it on video — verify it first.’”
Although some Pakistani outlets have started digital fact-checking, few possess dedicated verification teams.
The Pakistani Reality Check
Independent initiatives such as Soch Fact Check, Geo Fact Check, and PakistanFact (PILDAT) are leading efforts to expose misinformation. However, their reach remains limited compared to the sheer volume of false content online.
Some community-based projects now train citizens to recognize doctored content — using tools like reverse image searches or InVID for video verification. But these require time and awareness — both scarce in the fast-paced world of social media.
The Psychology of Speed and Trust
Why do people fall for fake news? Experts point to confirmation bias — our natural tendency to believe information that supports our existing views.
Social media algorithms amplify this bias, showing users more of what they already agree with. Over time, these echo chambers trap people inside self-reinforcing bubbles where the fake feels more real than truth itself.
What Can We Do?
The fight against digital deception begins with awareness.
Here are simple ways to protect yourself and others:
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Don’t believe everything you see — even videos can lie.
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Check the source. Is it verified? Credible?
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Use reverse image searches (Google, TinEye) for suspicious visuals.
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Ignore urgent “share quickly” messages. Speed kills truth.
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Follow trusted fact-checkers and encourage others to do the same.
Collectively, these small acts can help build a culture of verification rather than blind belief.
Living in an Age of Doubt
We now inhabit a digital civilization where every truth must be tested. Books are edited by algorithms, news is generated by AI, and even reality itself is filtered through screens.
In this world, doubt has become the new literacy.
Because every image you see, every voice you hear, and every “fact” you read may be a carefully crafted illusion.
The Moral of the Digital Story
We have access to more information than any generation before us — yet we struggle more than ever to separate truth from fiction.
Truth has not vanished; it’s simply drowned in a sea of distortions. But the fight isn’t over — it only demands sharper judgment and stronger ethics.
So the next time you receive a shocking video or viral “revelation,” take a breath. Pause. Verify.
Don’t believe what you see. Believe what you can verify.
