Old video of tractor stunt falsely linked to Indian farmers' protest

"BJP govt has sealed the borders with nails and barricades to stop the farmers," reads an X post, referring to India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

"But the farmers have found their way out to shake the roots of the regime. #FarmersProtest". 

The video, which shows a tractor-trolley crossing a river, was shared by an account with more than 57,000 followers on February 12, 2024.

It came as protesting Indian farmers heading to New Delhi were stalled halfway to the capital by a fortress-like wall of concrete. Police have ringed the city on three sides, blocking highways with metal spikes, blocks and steel barricades, raking the crowds with water cannons and dropping tear gas from overhead by drone. 

Many of the farmers -- determined to bring their anger and woes to politicians -- have driven on slow-moving tractors across India's northern Punjab state to demand guaranteed crop prices, waving flags, honking horns and chanting protest slogans.

The farmers say they launched their "Delhi Chalo", or "March to Delhi" -- recalling a January 2021 protest when they smashed through barriers and rolled into New Delhi -- because politicians are not listening.

Image

Screenshot of the false post, taken on February 13, 2024

The video was shared in similar posts on X and Facebook here, here and here that falsely linked it to the farmers' protest.

Religious procession

Some of the comments on a post sharing the video said it was old footage filmed in Anandpur Sahib, a city in the majority-Sikh Punjab state.

"Yes this video is old, it is of Shri Anandpur Sahib Ji," reads the Punjabi-language comment.

Image

A reverse image search of the video on Google alongside searches for the terms "Anandpur Sahib" and "tractor" found the video posted on YouTube on April 28, 2022 by a user called Taljinder Singh Cheema (archived link). 

The video is titled: "Anandpur Sahib bhakra dam farmtrac 60 epi big trolley." 

Bhakra Dam was built on the Satluj River in 1963. Many small canals originate from the dam in the farming areas of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. Farmtrac 60 EPI is a variety of tractor. 

Cheema's YouTube channel shows several videos of the same tractor-trolley, including here and here. 

Below is a screenshot comparison of the clip shared in false posts (left) and Cheema's YouTube video (right): 

Image

Screenshot comparison of the clip shared in false posts (left) and Cheema's YouTube video (right)

Contacted by AFP, Cheema identified himself as a farmer based in Punjab. He said he was driving the tractor-trolley seen in the video.

"This video shows the celebration of the Hola Mohalla festival in Anandpur Sahib in 2022," he said.

"Although I am a supporter of the farmers' movement, this video has nothing to do with the recent farmers' protest."

Hola Mohalla is an annual Sikh festival that promotes messages of courage and defence preparation. Festivities include processions and traditional martial arts displays (archived link). 

Image