Fact Check: Old video of tractors crossing water body falsely linked to farmers’ protest in 2024
NewsMeter found that the video is from 2023.
By Md Mahfooz Alam Published on 15 Feb 2024 6:57 PM IST
Screengrabs of the post making the false claim. (Source: X/@Politics_2022_)
Hyderabad: The internet has been flooded with old videos and misleading claims since the start of the current farmers’ agitation in New Delhi on February 13. The farmers have been demanding a legal guarantee of MSP, implementation of the Swaminathan Commission’s recommendations and farm debt waiver. In anticipation of farmers marching to Delhi, police ramped up security measures, imposing restrictions on gatherings and fortifying borders.
Now, a viral video showing tractors attached to huge trolleys wading through a water body is being shared with the claim that it shows farmers marching to Delhi’s border.
Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav shared the video linking it to the ongoing farmers’ protest. In the caption, Yadav targeted the BJP government for laying nails, digging up roads and fortifying borders with barbed wires to stop protesting farmers from reaching Delhi.
(Source: X/@yadavakhilesh)
“BJP govt has sealed the borders with nails and barricades to stop the farmers. But the farmers have found their way out to shake the roots of the regime,” wrote another X user who shared the video.
(Source: X/@Politics_2022_)
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the video is from 2023.
We noticed ‘PAW’ written on the side of a trolley attached to one of the tractors in the viral video.
With this clue, we did a Google search using the text as a keyword and found the video on an Instagram account by the name paw_bilga. The account has pictures of several tractor-trolleys. We noticed “SIDHU, NIJJAR, KANG” along with “AGRI FARM” written on the tractor trolleys in the photos. As per the bio, the account is associated with the trolley manufacturing company, Plaha Agri Industries.
We again checked the viral video and found what looked like “CHEEMA AGRI FARM” written on the trolley’s side.
With this clue, we searched on Instagram and found an account named Taljinder Singh Cheema. The account posted the viral video on December 8, 2023.
Since the user posted the video without any caption, we have reached out to him seeking details about the video. Cheema confirmed that he shot the video in April 2022 during the Baisakhi fair.
However, we found that the video has been on the internet since at least December 2023. Hence, it is clear that the video is falsely linked to the current framers’ protest in 2024.
