Old Pic of Congress Rally in MP Falsely Linked to Farmers’ Protest

A two-year old image of a rally against fuel price hike has been falsely linked to the ongoing farmers’ protest.

The image can be traced back to September 2018.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

An image of a bullock cart rally has been falsely linked to the ongoing farmers’ protest with the claim that the ‘revolution’ has reached even the remote corners of villages.

The image can be traced back to September 2018 when Madhya Pradesh Youth Congress had led a rally to protest against the hike in petrol and diesel prices.

CLAIM

The image was shared with the claim, “ये थप्पड़ है गोदी मीडिया के मुंह पर... देश के सबसे पिछड़े गांवों तक भी किसानों का इन्कलाब पहुंच गया है.”

(Translation: “This is a slap on the face of ‘godi’ media… The farmers’ revolution has reached even the most remote villages of the country.”)

You can view an archived version here.(Photo: Facebook/Screenshot)

You can view an archived version here.(Photo: Facebook/Screenshot)

The image was extremely viral on Facebook with the false claim, and was also shared on Twitter.

You can view the posts here.(Photo: Facebook/Screenshot)

You can view an archived version here.(Photo: Twitter/Screenshot)

WHAT WE FOUND OUT

On a reverse image search we came across a report by Hindi daily, Patrika, dated 13 September 2018, carrying the image.

(Photo: Patrika/Screenshot)

The report stated that the Youth Congress Party and National Students' Union of India (NSUI) had organised a bullock cart rally in Balaghat, Madhya Pradesh to protest against the ‘arbitrary’ hike in petrol and diesel fuel prices.

The words ‘पेट्रोल’ (Petrol) and ‘जिला युवा कांग्रेस बालाघाट’ (Zilla Youth Congress Balaghat) can be seen in the posters held up by the protesters. The flag of NSUI is also seen.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

We also found photos of the rally on Madhya Pradesh Youth Congress’ Facebook page from the same day. Other news reports, also reported on the incident, stating that the rally went to the Collector’s office to present their demands.

Evidently, a two-year old image from Madhya Pradesh’s Balaghat has been falsely linked to the ongoing famer’s protest. The Quint’s WebQoof team has debunked several other claims around the protest, which can be read here.

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