Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has spoken about how fake news and online trolling can spread quickly, recalling an incident involving Pakistan cricketer Babar Azam during the 2023 ODI World Cup.Pathan said a false story claimed Babar had refused to give him an interview because of his alleged comments about Pakistan. According to Pathan, the report was created using a manipulated photograph.

“The trolling and fake attribution happen every day," Pathan said on JioHotstar.He explained that a Pakistani media outlet had published a story suggesting he had approached Babar for an interview, only to be turned down.“The media in our neighbouring country once ran a story claiming that I had gone to interview Babar Azam, and that he refused because, according to him, ‘He trolls our country, so I won’t give him an interview.’ It was a complete lie. Someone had photoshopped my face onto a picture," he said.Pathan clarified that the person in the original photograph was actually a young Bangladeshi reporter who had approached Babar but was denied an interview.

“The person in the original image was a young Bangladeshi reporter who had gone to the ground for the first time and was refused an interview. They literally put my face on his body and spread the story. It got over a million views, and people believed it was me. This happens every day, but I don’t respond. Every day, some lie is told in our name or about some player. If you keep responding to everyone, you won’t be able to live your life," he added.

Pathan was part of India’s 2007 T20 World Cup-winning team and was named Player of the Match in the final against Pakistan. He took 301 international wickets and scored 2,821 runs. In the IPL, he played 103 matches, taking 80 wickets and scoring 1,139 runs.