The Fake Sheikh True Story: Where is journalist Mazher Mahmood now & what did he do?

The Fake Sheikh is a true story made in the form of a docuseries that revolves around a 60-year-old journalist named Mazher Mahood who is remembered for doing numerous undercover exposes but ended up in jail.

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While documentaries and docuseries have gained prominence in the world of OTT, streaming giants leave no stone unturned to bring unique content for the viewers. Bt it, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney Plus Hotstar, Zee5, etc., streaming giants have brought true stories in the form of docuseries for their viewers. Talking about docuseries, Amazon Prime Video is banking big on 'The Fake Sheikh' and the quirky name seems to be getting a lot of traction on social media. The Fake Sheikh was released on Amazon Prime Video on September 26, 2023, and people around the world finally came to know about British investigative journalist Mazher Mahmood. For the unversed, The Fake Sheikh is a true story made in the form of a docuseries that revolves around a 60-year-old journalist named Mazher Mahood who is remembered for doing numerous undercover exposes as ‘The Fake Sheikh’.

Since you have landed on this page, True Scoop News assumes that you have already watched The Fake Sheikh on Amazon Prime Video or planning to watch it. Therefore, you have questions regarding, The Fake Sheikh True Story or about 'Real' The Fake Sheikh Mazher Mahood. Below is everything you need to know about Mazher Mahmood infamously known as The Fake Sheikh-

Who is Mazher Mahood aka The Fake Sheikh?

Amazon Video’s docuseries explores “the life of maverick British reporter Mazher Mahmood, whose exposés generated headlines by his use of false identities to ensnare royals, sports stars, politicians, celebrities and members of the public.” As per the information available, Mazher Mahmood is a British journalist who was convicted of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. Before his conviction, Mazher worked mainly for the tabloid press. He spent 20 years working for the News of the World and the Sunday Times. During his journalism tenure, he was responsible for numerous investigations. In fact, Mazher won Reporter of the Year in 2011, as well as Scoop of the Year and the Sports Journalists' Association award, for an investigation of cricket match-fixing.

Why Mazher Mahmood was called The Fake Sheikh?

As per UK media reports, Mazher used to disguise himself as a wealthy Middle Eastern man ready to invest in anyone's business in order to expand his network to ultimately run an expose on celebrities, sports person,s or known individuals. While many in the journalism fraternity questioned Mazher's ethics, a few also termed him as the most fearless investigative journalist.

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Talking about Mahmood's ethics, BBC’s Panorama program aired a special in 2014 titled ‘The Fake Sheikh Exposed’. It showcased that Mazher's methods included payments to third parties who procured the drugs that his targets would later be exposed as supplying and that he made offers of scarcely believable career opportunities to targets with no recent history of drug misuse, who were then pressured to obtain cocaine.

How did Mazher Mahmood land in jail?

Mazher's fame took a nosedive when he was trapped in a sting operation by another newspaper. To be precise, in 2014, Mahmood was the subject of a sting operation by another newspaper, The Sun on Sunday. He was caught in an elaborate trap while attempting to expose singer Tulisa Contostavlos's involvement in a drug deal. This led to his arrest and subsequent conviction for conspiring to pervert the course of justice, a significant and unexpected fall from grace for the once-celebrated journalist. In October 2016, Mahmood was jailed for 15 months after being found guilty of conspiring to pervert the course of justice

Where is Mzzher Mahood now?

As per UK media reports, after being released from prison Mahmood is reported to have changed his name and identity and is no longer working in the industry in which he made his name.

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