News channels run doctored video of farmer leader Dallewal’s statement on Modi, question movement’s agenda

by Abhishek Kumar

A video related to the farmers’ movement is viral on social media in which farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal states that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity graph has skyrocketed after the Ram Mandir inauguration and reached an all-time high. He appears to call on the listeners to think about how it can be brought down in a few days.

BJP leaders, Right-Wing influencers and media channels shared the video claiming that the only purpose of the farmers’ movement was to tarnish the Modi government’s image.

While airing the same footage on the News18 channel, Rubika Liyaquat stated that the intention behind the farmers’ movement was political.

While tweeting the viral clip, News18 anchor Amish Devgan wrote that Modi’s graph had skyrocketed after Ram Mandir, and the intent behind the farmers’ movement was to bring it down.

While airing the viral video on India TV, anchor Meenakshi Joshi claimed the farmers’ movement was kicked off to curb the popularity of Narendra Modi. She also claimed that the clip was from a few days before the start of the farmers’ movement.

Zee News anchor Shivangi Thakur also questioned whether the increasing popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the reason for the ongoing protests by farmers regarding their march to Delhi. Later, in the same report, the anchor stated that Zee News did not confirm the authenticity of the video.

Times Now Navbharat also promoted the clip, with anchor Himanshu Dixit claiming that the aim of the farmers’ movement was to harm Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s image and bring down his popularity. Meanwhile, national editor of Times Now Navbharat Amit Kumar claimed that the agenda of those who were protesting had nothing to do with farmers. He added that their real intention was to tarnish the Modi government’s image and benefit rival political parties.

India Today also amplified the footage. Anchor Nabila Jamal stated that the comments made by farmer leaders were against the farmers’ real agenda. She questioned why Dallewal was talking about tackling Modi’s popularity when farmers had mobilised over the MSP law. She questioned their real agenda.

Republic TV also aired the video, questioning whether farmers were really protesting for their rights or whether they had some other intention.

News agency ANI tweeted a statement by Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar reacting to the viral footage. In this video, the reporter tells the chief minister that farmer leader Dallewal said that ever since the construction of the Ram Mandir, PM Modi’s popularity graph has skyrocketed, and it was now time to bring that graph down and that is why the movement started. The reporter then seeks Khattar’s reaction to the footage.

A number of Right-wing accounts, including senior advisor to the Government of India Kanchan Gupta, who has been caught several times in the past sharing misinformation, tweeted this video with the same claim. Also among them were BJP Chandigarh, Anshul Saxena, Roshan Sinha (@MrSinha_), and Pun Facts.

Fact-check

Alt News performed a keyword search on Facebook using Punjabi keywords to gather information about the viral video. We came across the full-length 26-minute version of this video on a Facebook page named ‘The Unmute’. Scenes from the viral clip appear here at the 18:40 mark. We discovered that the viral video had been doctored.

We found that some parts of the original video had been edited to make it appear that farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal was saying that the purpose of the farmers’ movement was to reduce the popularity of the prime minister and bring down his graph. In reality, however, Dallewal stated that “Modi’s graph (attention) toward the Ram Mandir was at an all-time high. Any politician accepts a demand only when they feel not giving in to it will cause them political harm. They do not prioritize demands which do not have such consequences. What we are saying is ‘how can this graph be brought down’? The graph is very high and we have very few days. If the graph does not come down, our demands will not be accepted.” The context of the original video was tampered with and an edited clip was created by cutting out some parts of the original video, which was then circulated on social media and aired on TV channels without any context. We have spliced the edited video and the original in the comparison below. This clearly illustrates that some parts of the original video were removed and shared without any context, and an attempt was made to give a different colour to the farmer leader’s statement.

Farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal himself issued a clarification on the viral clip and said that his statement had been distorted and was being misrepresented on social media.

To sum it up, a plethora of TV channels, journalists, Right-Wing influencers, the BJP, along with the advisor to the Government of India, circulated an edited video of farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal without any context and amplified a misleading claim.

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About the Author

Abhishek is a senior fact-checking journalist and researcher at Alt News. He has a keen interest in information verification and technology. He is always eager to learn new skills, explore new OSINT tools and techniques. Prior to joining Alt News, he worked in the field of content development and analysis with a major focus on Search Engine Optimization (SEO).