Claim: A photo of Pakistani businessman Seth Abid with Dubai’s ruler Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has gone viral online. There is an image.
Fact: The image has been manipulated. Seth Abid’s original photo does not feature any UAE officials.
On September 24th, a social media user shared a photo in a thread with the following caption:
سمگلنگ کے بادشاہ سیٹھ عابد ایک بار دبئی کے مشہور جوئے خانے میں موجود تھ کافی بڑی رقم ہار گئے۔ دبئی کے ایک شیخ طن زیہ ان کو طعنہ دیتے ہوئے کہا کہ اتنی بڑی رقم ہارنے کے بعد ا ب دبئی میں زندگی کیسے کیسے گے؟ ت سیٹھ نے نے ف ب ب کی ُ ُ ی منز منز کے شیشے بن مزيد ب کمنٹ کمنٹ کمنٹ
[Translation: King of smuggling Seth Abid once lost a huge sum of money to a Sheikh in a famous gambling house in Dubai. The Sheikh of Dubai sarcastically asked him how he was going to continue his life in Dubai if he had lost such a big sum of money? In response Seth Abid went up to the tallest building, which has walls made of glass, rest of the details are in the comments.]
The post claimed that Seth Abid lost money gambling with Sheikh in Dubai and was asked how he would make ends meet, but that answer was not included in the post.
Fact or fiction?
Through multiple reverse image searches, Soch Fact Check discovered that the three men in the photo are:
Standing on the left: His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE Standing on the right: His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai Sitting in the center: Pakistani businessman Seth Abid.
A reverse image search also found the original images published here and here. Seth Abid is just sitting in the chair, not next to Sheikh. A 2022 article states that his 62-year-old daughter was shot dead at her home in Lahore. The article also states that Seth Abid passed away from an illness in 2021.
Seth Abid was a gold merchant, billionaire, and philanthropist. He was also in the real estate business, and his life was reported in Pakistan’s mainstream media in 2022 after his death, after his daughter was allegedly shot and killed by his adopted son.
While Soho Fact Check cannot factually testify whether Abid caused the Sheikh to lose huge sums of money at a gambling den in Dubai, there is no doubt that the image shown in the claim has been doctored.
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This claim was shared in a thread here.
I saw this claim being shared here on Facebook.
Conclusion: A photo of Pakistani businessman Seth Abid, ruler of Dubai and president of the UAE, has been doctored.
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Cover photo background image: TV9 Bharatvarsh
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