The farmers’ agitation against the centre’s agricultural laws took a new turn on July 22, when a group of demonstrators started a Kisan Sansad (Farmers’ Parliament) at New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar. Misinformation targeting the protest began circulating once again after the Kisan Sansad. A photo of a man in a turban carrying a packet of condoms in his kurta pocket started gathering a lot of traction on social media. Twitter user @Bhagwa_sherni22 posted the photo and wrote, “Here’s a farmer walking around carrying protest-related documents in his pocket. Fake farmers’ movement.”
Twitter user ‘हम लोग We The People’ also shared the image with the same claim. The handle has been known to spread misinformation on several occasions in the past.
Several users circulated the image on Facebook and Twitter mocking the farmers’ movement.
Fact-check
Alt News performed a reverse image search which led us to the original image in a Kaumi Marg article dated May 3, 2021. It is clear that there is no packet of condoms in the man’s pocket.
The same image was also carried in a 2018 article in Tribune. The individual in the photo is Sucha Singh Langah, a former Shiromani Akali Dal minister. He was a cabinet minister in the Punjab government.
A photo of Sucha Singh Langah, who was previously affiliated with the Shiromani Akali Dal, was edited to make it appear as though he was carrying a pack of condoms in his pocket. The image was circulated while targeting the ongoing farmers’ protests. Unrelated images and videos have been shared online often in an attempt to question the credibility of the movement and its participants.
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