By Srijit Das
An old photograph of a man walking over barricades as he brandishes two swords has recently been shared on social media with a false claim that it shows a glimpse from the current farmers' protest near the Delhi border.
BOOM found that the photograph was taken in 2021 when protesting farmers assembled at the Red Fort in New Delhi as part of a demonstration opposing the farm laws introduced by the Centre.
Farmers from across northern India have resumed their protest against the Narendra Modi-led BJP government, with demands for an ordinance ensuring a minimum support price (MSP) for their crops. Earlier this week, farmers launched their protests, reigniting a year-long demonstration that happened in 2020-21 against the Central government. Several farmers also sustained injuries as the police deployed tear gas shells at the border points between Punjab and Haryana during the recent protest.
A verified handle on X posted the photo with hashtag 'Farmer Protest 2024' along with a caption, "Cowards hiding their face".
Click here to view the post.
Another X user uploaded the picture with the caption, "Poor farmer harvesting paddy on the streets of Delhi......."
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Fact Check
BOOM performed a reverse image search on the picture and found that several news outlets had featured the same photograph in their coverage of the farmers' protest that took place on January 26, 2021.
A report by India TV from January 26, 2021, carried the same image alongside the description, "A farmer walks over the police barricades set up on a road at Akshardham to stop farmers during their during the Kisan Gantantra Parade amid the 72nd Republic Day celebrations.
The photograph was credited to the news agency Press Trust of India. We found the same photo on Press Trust of India's website upon doing a keyword search related to the 'Kisan Gantantra Parade'.
Additionally, we found several news broadcasts from January 26, 2021, displaying visuals of a clash between the police personnel and protesting farmers.
On January 26, 2021, an article published by news agency Associated Press reported that during the Republic Day celebrations in the country, the prolonged protest took a violent turn. Farmers displayed farm union and religious flags from the fort's ramparts, where the national flag is traditionally hoisted by prime ministers on the country's August independence holiday.
The report also stated that despite the use of tear gas, water cannons and barricades by riot police in an attempt to prevent protesters from reaching the core of New Delhi, the demonstrators successfully broke through at multiple locations.
On January 27, 2021, The Indian Express reported that a 27-year-old protester named Navreet Singh lost his life during the demonstration that took place on January 26, 2021.
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