Edited image of ‘Sikh without moustache’ viral to discredit farmers’ protest

An image of a Sikh man apparently without a moustache is being shared on social media with the claim that a Muslim man was posing as a Sikh in the ongoing farmers’ protest.

A premium subscribed X (formerly Twitter) user 🇮🇳Jitendra pratap singh🇮🇳 (@jpsin1), whose bio mentions that he is a ‘Modi Supporter’, shared the above-mentioned image on February 15 with a caption in Hindi that can be translated as: “There are many such Sardars in the farmers’ protest who are without moustache. In fact, all of them are Maulanas of Tablighi Jamaat who have become Sardars by wearing a turban.” (Archive)

किसान आंदोलन में कई ऐसे भी सरदार लिखें जो बगैर मूछों वाले हैं दरअसल यह सब तबलीगी जमात के मौलाना है पगड़ी पहनकर सरदार बन गए हैं pic.twitter.com/IVc9KsZRbv

— 🇮🇳Jitendra pratap singh🇮🇳 (@jpsin1) February 15, 2024

Another premium subscribed X user shared the same image on February 15 mocking the protesting farmers. (Archive)

कल जुम्मा । कल Friday ।
कल ऐसे बिना मुँछे वाले लोग किसान बनकर घुसेंगे ।
इन solidarity !! pic.twitter.com/EMpLdp30g8

— atomizer 🇮🇳 (@Leli_atomizer) February 15, 2024

Viral Since 2020

The same image was also viral in 2020 during the farmers’ protest with the same claim that a Muslim man is posing as a farmer in the protests. Twitter user Manjeet Bagg wrote, “Where did the moustache of this Sardar ji disappear?” This tweet gained over 3,000 retweets before it was deleted. (Archive)

Similarly, several Facebook and Twitter users posted the image, including Twitter users @AchAnkurArya & @_TiwariRekha (archived link 1, 2) and Facebook pages Ugra Hindutva & Krantikari Hindu (archived link 1, 2).

Fact Check

During our research, we found that Facebook user Harsit Gupta had shared a post by the Facebook page ‘Ugra Hindutva’. In the comments of Gupta’s post, we found that a user had shared a link to a Facebook Live by the page ‘Hindustan LIVE Farhan Yahiya‘ from Singhu Border, the epicentre of the farmers’ protest in 2020.

In the Facebook Live, shot on November 29, we can see that the Sikh man has a moustache. This means that that viral image is edited.

The screenshot has been taken from the 7:29 mark in the Live video.

At the beginning of the Facebook Live, a man says that the visuals are from Nirankari Maidan in Burari, very close to the Singhu border. He added, “Along with many Sikh brothers, people from the Muslim community have also reached here.” He then continues to interview men from Sikh and Muslim communities.

Therefore, an edited screenshot from a Facebook Live by the page Hindustan LIVE Farhan Yahiya is being  widely shared on the internet with the false claim that a Muslim man joined the framers’ protest dressed up as a Sikh. The image went viral during the 2020 anti-far law movement as well.