Woman who ‘leaked’ Imam-ul-Haq’s WhatsApp messages actually a guy?

A controversy born of social media has now died within it. Pakistan cricketer and nephew of Inzamam Ul-Haq, Imam Ul-Haq, has been accused of having ‘multiple affairs’ after a series of Whatsapp screenshots were ‘leaked, allegedly showing him flirting with eight girls at once.

The screenshots showed Imam and a lady flirting with each other, with some lewd comments intermingled into what is otherwise a harmless conversation. Though the comments suggest consensual conversation, they attracted controversy and even the #MeToo tag, suggesting that Imam was harassing these women.

Since Imam is allegedly flirting in these screenshots, the internet had a field day with many memes circulating at his expense. In addition, the screenshots were shared and hastagged as a #MeToo incident, which led to some users questioning whether Imam did anything besides flirt.

However, the problem with posting screenshots is that they can easily be faked. Adding to the dubious nature of the original posts is a mini-investigation by user @GoStudyAsad2, who found that one of the accounts posting screenshots of the conversations was actually a guy using the profile picture of Sheena Bajaj, an Indian actress.

In an earlier post, the user — who changed their profile name during this whole affair and has now deleted their account — had uploaded multiple profile pics of a guy. The image used as the current profile picture is taken from another person’s Instagram account.

THE WEEK could not independently verify the posts or the screenshots of the alleged conversations. Imam could have been a victim of ‘catfishing’ — an online trick where a user lures another into a relationship using a fake online persona.

Before the account was deleted, the final tweets claimed to have conversations with more Pakistani cricketers, naming Shaheed Afridi and Rasheed Khan. The incentive could have been to gain followers.

Users have requested that the Pakistan Cricket Board takes legal action against the uploader, pointing out other accounts that have also deleted their earlier tweets and allegations.