Former Pakistan PM targeted with false X account location claims

After rolled out a feature revealing an account’s location in November 2025, messages surfaced in Pakistan falsely claiming that a screenshot of former leader Nawaz Sharif’s page showed it was located in the country’s main rival India. An analysis of the image revealed errors indicating it had been fabricated, while a review of Sharif’s account confirmed its location. Pakistan.

“Nawaz Sharif revealed as Modi’s true friend“, reads an X message in Urdu shared on November 23, 2025, referring to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

It includes a photo apparently showing details from Sharif’s X account indicating he is based in India.

Screenshot of a fake X post taken on November 28, 2025 with a red cross added by AFP

Nuclear-armed India and Pakistan engaged in four days of conflict in May, their worst fighting since 1999, with exchanges of missiles, drones and artillery killing more than 70 people on both sides (archived link).

Similar posts depicting Sharif as a traitor to Pakistan have surfaced on Facebook and TikTok since Elon Musk’s X rolled out a feature revealing an account’s location (archived link).

The launch sparked a flurry of searches online, although X warned that the feature “may not be accurate and may change periodically.”

When you click on an account’s location, a pop-up message says: “The country or region in which an account is based may be affected by recent travel or temporary relocation.”

Contrary to the fake messages, a review of Sharif’s X account on December 4 shows the location to be Pakistan (archived link).

Additionally, the screenshot shared in the fake posts contains several errors.

Sharif’s X handle is @NawazSharifMNS, while the account name in the circulating image appears as @nawazsharifmns – all letters lowercase.

The latter also misspells Sharif’s title as “former Mrimite of Pakistan” instead of “former Prime Minister of Pakistan”.

The AFP here denied more disinformation targeting Sharif.