Vandalism During Bharat Bandh? No, Image is At Least 6 Months Old

The image in question is not a recent one and could be traced back to May 2020.

It is an old image and not related to the ‘Bharat Bandh’ that took place on 8 December.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

A viral image showing vegetables lying on the ground is being shared to claim that it is from the ‘Bharat Bandh’ that was called on Tuesday, 8 December, by the agitating farmers. However, the image could be traced back to May 2020 and is from West Bengal.

CLAIM

Facebook user ‘Gaurav Pradhan’ shared the image with the claim mentioning that it shows how Opposition parties made the farmers carry out the Bharat bandh.

The image shared by the Facebook user had been shared over 1,300 times at the time of publishing the article.

You can view the archived version here.(Source: Twitter/ Screenshot)

Kreately, a blog which has been called out before for sharing misinformation, also carried the viral image in an article on Bharat bandh.

Archive link here.(Source: Website/ Screenshot)

Several social media users shared the image on Twitter and Facebook with the same claim.

You can view the archived version here.(Source: Twitter/ Screenshot)

You can view the archived version here.(Source: Facebook/ Screenshot)

WHAT WE FOUND OUT

A simple reverse search on the image led us to a blog that carried the viral image and was published in May 2020.

We ran an advanced Twitter search using relevant keywords and came across several tweets dated 5 May. The image was shared on Facebook too, around 4-5 May.

(Photo: Twitter/ Altered by The Quint)

Since the image tweeted in May is a slightly clear version of the viral one, we could see that the number plate of the red vehicle reads: “WB 25”.

(Source: Twitter/ Screenshot/ Altered by The Quint)

‘WB 25’ is the RTO Code for West Bengal’s Barasat, a municipal city in the North 24 Parganas district.

A local reporter confirmed to The Quint that the image is from Barasat and dates back to the early months of the coronavirus lockdown.

Evidently, an old image was revived to claim that it’s from the Bharat Bandh that took place on 8 December.

(With inputs from SM Hoax Slayer)

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