Modi effigy tied to a tractor: Photo from Oregon, US; not related to farmers’ protest

A video of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s effigy tied to a tractor is viral on social media with users linking it to the ongoing farmers’ protest in Delhi and Haryana. Posters with the text ‘No Farmers, No Food’ are in the background. Prominent Right Wing influencer @MrSinha_ tweeted the video with the caption, ‘Blood boils’. (Archive)

Blood boils 😡😡😡😡 pic.twitter.com/1v9CR8uzFH

— Mr Sinha (@MrSinha_) February 20, 2024

Verified X user @MediaHarshVT tweeted the video and called for action against the ones seen in the video. (Archive)

देश के @PMOIndia @narendramodi की हत्या की धमकी लगातार दी जा रही है। #FarmersProtest2024 से वीडियो दिखे कि, इस बार पंजाब से बचकर नहीं जाएगा। @HMOIndia इस तरह से देश के प्रधानमंत्री को मारने की बात करने वालों पर कोई कार्रवाई नहीं होना, बहुत गलत है। यह वीडियो देखिए। समझ नहीं आता… pic.twitter.com/1KdDtdWk1n

— हर्ष वर्धन त्रिपाठी 🇮🇳Harsh Vardhan Tripathi (@MediaHarshVT) February 20, 2024

Another verified user @MYogiDevnath also tweeted the video and said “The government should now treat these Khalistanis in the same way as it was done before.” (Archive)

ये किसान हैं??

आंदोलनकारी खालिस्तानी भिंडरवाले की फोटो को शान से प्रस्तुत कर रहे हैं और देश के प्रधान मंत्री मोदी जी का पुतला बनाकर उसे घसीट रहे हैं

सरकार को इन खालिस्तानियों का अब इलाज उसी तरह किया जाना चाहिए जैसे पहले हुआ था pic.twitter.com/P2NYynrowI

— Yogi Devnath 🇮🇳 (@MYogiDevnath) February 20, 2024

Several other users also tweeted the video, linking it to the ongoing protests. (Archives- 1, 2)

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Fact Check

Upon a closer look at the viral video, we noticed a number on the signboard with the text ‘Orders To Go”. We discovered that the number listed belonged to a Punjabi Dhaba in Aurora, Oregon in the US named ‘Sizzling Tandoori Hut’. The text Sizzling can also be deciphered on the signboard in the viral video.

We geolocated the eatery in Aurora and found that the signboard in the images on the Google Maps street view matches the one seen in the viral video. Even the tractor on which Modi’s effigy was tied can be seen on the side. Below, is a comparison between the street view of the eatery and a screengrab from the viral video.

We also found that the audio in the viral video had been taken from an NDTV interview from 2020. The NDTV reporter asked a protester why he was going to Delhi to which he replied, “He has taken our roti, he will take our land, we will punch Modi”.

We called up the number visible on the signboard and spoke to a representative of the restaurant. Though they could not specify the particular incident, they told Alt News that such protests kept happening in the town.

Hence, a video of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s effigy tied to the front of a tractor filmed in an eatery in Oregon is viral on social media with users linking it to the ongoing farmers’ protest in Delhi. An audio from the farmers’ protest in 2020 has also been edited into the viral video.