Clip of Indian PM effigy with edited audio was shot in US, not India

A Hindi-language caption with a Facebook post shared here on February 20, 2024 reads in part,  "There are continuous threats to the life of Country's prime minister Narendra Modi. See this video from #FarmersProtest2024 this time he won't escape Punjab. No action against those threatening the country's PM gives out a wrong message". 

The caption links the video to the ongoing farmers' protest in India and references an incident in 2022 when farmers reportedly blocked Modi's motorcade in the northern state of Punjab (archived link). 

The nine-second clip shows an effigy of Modi with footwear hung around its neck and tied to a tractor.

A voice in the background can be heard asking, "Why are you travelling in the winter?" To this, a person replies in Punjabi-language, "He has snatched our source of livelihood, he will snatch our lands too. We will beat Modi with our fists." 

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Screenshot of false post taken on March 6, 2024

Thousands of farmers launched on February 15, 2024 what they have dubbed "Delhi Chalo", or "March to Delhi," which is a revival of  the 2021 farmers' demonstrations. In 2021, farmers successfully pushed the government to repeal new laws deregulating agricultural markets.  

This time around, the demonstrations -- which took place before the national elections scheduled most likely for April this year -- are about the farmers' demand for a law that will set a minimum support price for crops.

The video was shared with similar claims elsewhere on X and Facebook here and here. 

Old protest audio 

A keyword search of the Hindi exchange on YouTube found a video published on the verified YouTube channel of news outlet NDTV on November 26, 2020 (archived link).

The Hindi-language video shows a montage of ground reports from the 2020 protests when farmers had clashed with security personnel as they were barred from entering New Delhi. 

The video's headline reads: "Farmers Protest: Police stop farmers on Ambala-Patiala border."

At the three-minute, 33-second mark of the video, a reporter can be seen speaking to a farmer. The same conversation has been overlaid in the video shared in false posts. 

Video from Oregon

A signboard of a restaurant appears at the six-second mark of the video shared in false posts.

Reverse image and keyword search of this signboard on Google led to a post on Tripadvisor, a travel site, about an Indian restaurant  in Aurora city, located in the US state of Oregon (archived link). 

The visual clues seen in the video shared in the false post -- which includes a telephone number for placing orders on the restaurant's signboard and a teacup logo of another restaurant adjacent to it -- matches the Google Street View image  of the location found on Tripadvisor (archived link).

Below is a screenshot comparison of a keyframe from the video shared in false posts (left) and Google Street View image of the restaurant (right) with similar elements highlighted by AFP:

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Screenshot comparison of a keyframe from the video shared in false posts (left) and Google Street View imagery of the restaurant (right)

AFP has been unable to verify when the video was shot.

AFP has previously debunked misinformation related to the farmers’ protests in 2024 here, here and here. 

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