Fact or fiction? Saga of viral Jack Ma, Piers Morgan clips
By The Taurean
Viral clips featuring Jack Ma and Piers Morgan have captivated Pakistanis with feel-good themes about the country’s global role and military strength. However, investigations have revealed no verified connection to either personality
THE VIRAL VORTEX
Aug 25, 2025
IN the vibrant and ever-evolving digital age, where information races across the globe at lightning speed, certain narratives capture the collective imagination and stir a nation’s pride like wildfire. Among Pakistani social media, two such narratives surfaced recently — audio-video clips purportedly featuring Jack Ma, the enigmatic Alibaba founder, and Piers Morgan, the outspoken British journalist.
These clips, brimming with evocative commentary on Pakistan’s rising prominence on the world stage and its strategic military prowess, quickly won hearts and sparked debate. They offered stories that felt like balm — feel-good narratives in a sea of uncertainty and conflict.
The allure of these clips lay not just in their content, but in their power to inspire hope and national pride.
The “Jack Ma clip” painted Pakistan as a geographical and geopolitical linchpin whose location made it indispensable to the West’s global strategies. With bold text frames and a voice mimicking Ma’s inspiring cadence, it highlighted Pakistan’s youth, its digital revolution, and burgeoning economic potential, casting the country in a transformative light destined to shape the future.
Meanwhile, the “Piers Morgan clip”, utilising a clipped but authoritative voiceover purportedly from the British journalist, delved deep into military strategy. It narrated how the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) supposedly startled Western defence analysts with innovative tactics and a modern fighter jet fleet. Stock footage of jets in action accompanied the technical commentary, highlighting tactical maneuvers that ostensibly left Western air forces reeling and compelled analysts to take notice.
Yet, as the initial charm melted, questions arose about authenticity. Careful probing revealed a stark truth: neither Jack Ma nor Piers Morgan ever recorded these comments. The clips were fabrications — synthetic or manipulated voices, stock footage, and textual overlays crafted by unknown creators. The Piers Morgan clip did not show his face and used his voice in ways never authorised.
The Jack Ma video echoed similar patterns: motivational but unsubstantiated, lacking any official validation or release from the Alibaba founder.
This revelation opened a Pandora’s box of suspicions and theories. Could these videos be sophisticated propaganda from the Pakistani government or military, aimed at bolstering national morale? Or were they machinations by Indian authorities, given the tense geopolitical rivalry, trying to muddy perceptions and create confusion?
Available credible sources suggest otherwise. Both Pakistan and India have histories of engaging in soft power and information warfare, but no definitive evidence links either state apparatus directly to these clips. The viral nature and style — consistent with AI-generated or opportunistic independent productions — point more to non-state actors exploiting public sentiment.
Pakistan’s commentators have disavowed the Piers Morgan clip, and Indian media fact-checks have flagged similar disinformation during ongoing tensions. Neither side claims ownership or authorship.
Indeed, in today’s digital ecosystem, the rise of AI and content generation tools has lowered barriers dramatically. Opportunistic creators can craft compelling, counterfeit narratives that ride waves of nationalistic fervour, geopolitical intrigue, and technological marvel. These creators, motivated by potential financial gain through advertisement revenues, social media monetisation, or expanding influence, leverage viral content’s power in markets hungry for validation and inspiring stories.
Thus, the Jack Ma and Piers Morgan clips serve as exemplars of this new media landscape, where truth bends under the pressure of virality, and perception often blurs with reality. These clips, though false, fulfilled a psychological and cultural need, reflecting aspirations and anxieties of a nation at a crossroads.
In a digital era overflowing with information, media literacy and critical scrutiny become indispensable. As these viral sensations illustrate, not all that inspires is true.