Old tractor convoy video misrepresented as farmers backing up Cockroach Janta Party demonstrators
- Published on July 10, 2026 at 10:45
- 3 min read
- By Vishesh SINGH, AFP India
As students protested in India's capital New Delhi under the banner of the satirical Cockroach Janata Party over alleged irregularities in major examinations, a months-old video was shared in posts falsely claiming it showed farmers rallying to their cause. The video was previously posted online in September 2025, and in fact shows farmers on their way to protest a proposed dam project in Madhya Pradesh state.
"A Massive Show of Support!!" says part of the superimposed text on an Instagram video shared on June 26, 2026.
The video shows a convoy of tractors, some affixed with saffron flags, driving along a motorway.
"Farmers join Cockroach Janta Party protest in support of students at Jantar Mantar," the superimposed text adds, referring to a well-known protest site in New Delhi.
The video circulated as hundreds of students protested in New Delhi to demand the resignation of India's Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, whom they blame for repeated failures in the education system, particularly in the conduct of India's medical entrance examination (archived link).
Alleged irregularities, including a paper leak that forced a retake of the exam, have become a key reason for the mobilisation of students under the banner of the satirical Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which plays on the name of country's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Born out of an X post by the parody party's founder Abhijit Dipke in May 2026, the CJP now has more than 22 million followers on its Instagram account, eclipsing the BJP's by 13 million followers. What began online has since spilled onto the streets, with CJP holding protests in different cities across the country.
The video was also shared in similar Facebook and YouTube posts, with comments suggesting social media users believed the farmers were on their way to join these protests.
One called the mobilisation "phenomenal", while another predicted it "could be the end of a regime if farmers unite" -- drawing parallel to the 2021 Indian farmers' protests against agricultural reform laws (archived link).
Thousands of farmers camped with their tractors on the outskirts of New Delhi for a year starting from 2021, forcing the government to repeal the laws in a rare policy reversal for the Narendra Modi administration (archived link).
While the United Farmers' Front, an umbrella body which led the 2021 farmers' movement, officially backed the CJP protest in an Instagram post, the circulating video does not show the farmers on their way to join the CJP protest in the capital (archived link).
Unrelated video
A combination of reverse image and keyword searches on Google found the same video was posted on YouTube on September 24, 2025 (archived link).
"Long live farmers' unity," reads its caption.
Visual clues in the video indicate it was filmed in Guna, in Madhya Pradesh state, approximately 451 kilometres (280 miles) from Delhi. The footage also corresponds to Google Street View imagery of National Highway 48 in Guna (archived link).
Hindi-language keyword searches found an Instagram post from September 23, 2025 that shared a video from the same location filmed from a different angle (archived link).
Hindi-language text superimposed on the video reads in part, "Protest against the dam".
Further keyword searches found a local media report from September 2025 that said farmers from several villages in central Madhya Pradesh state had driven to Guna in their tractors to protest against a proposed dam project (archived link). The protesting farmers said the project would rob them of fertile lands.
AFP has previously debunked misinformation swirling around the CJP protests.
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