DigitEye India Fact Checkers
A video of a tractor modified into a luxury vehicle is being shared on social media with a claim that the farmers, who can afford to modify their tractors into expensive vehicles, are demanding pensions and other benefits from the Government of India. Several such videos of modified tractors are being shared with similar claims on social media and some of them can be seen here:
The so-called farmers making unrealistic demands from the GoI seem fully prepared as if gearing up for a war against the state.
These purportedly poor farmers can afford to modify their tractors but also demand pensions and other stuff from the GoI. It’s evident that this… pic.twitter.com/FNypPnIVSH
— BALA (@erbmjha) February 13, 2024
Another version of a modified tractor’s video was shared below:
This is a modified tractor converted at considerable cost. Is it a Farmers protest or waging war against the nation! Who is funding these agitations? Obviously the *Break India* elements! They want to force the Govt to use force so that they get an excuse to burn the country. pic.twitter.com/iHW5OaMGuJ
— top blogger (@topblogger1) February 15, 2024
The caption reads: “The so-called farmers making unrealistic demands from the GoI seem fully prepared, as if gearing up for a war against the state.”
“These purportedly poor farmers can afford to modify their tractors but also demand pensions and other stuff from the GoI.” Other captions further added: ““It’s evident that this protest against the Modi government is politically motivated,” reads another caption.
As the farmers are protesting in the border demanding the government to guarantee them Minimum Support Price for crops, the use of tractors to reach Delhi (Delhi Chalo) has taken attention. Several videos showing modified tractors are trending the Twitter with different claims.
FACT CHECK
When the Digiteye India team checked for the claim, we saw several videos on Twitter using different footage of a modified tractor as the one being used by some protesting farmers for a guaranteed Minimum Support Price (MSP) for crops at Delhi border.
Using key frames of the video1 and checking on Google Reverse Image Search, we could locate the original video to an Instagram post from 1 February 1, 2024 whereby a Turkish media outlet “Ortakoy Haberim” shared it as a tractor being modified by Hattat Traktor based in Cerkezkoy, Turkey with the text “HATTAT 260G” written on it. It was a modified tractor but not among those used in Delhi border by farmers in their protest.
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We checked further to realise that these tractors are not available in India and there’s no dealer for them in India. Hence, the video has nothing to do with the farmers’ protest being held at Delhi border.
Image shown above in another tweet shows three modified, modern-looking tractors on the road. Owing to the modern, hi-tech look of these tractors, we checked further on Is it AI, a web tool to detect AI-generated visuals. It showed that the visual has 82.78% possibility of being an AI-generated video as seen below:
Hence, both the videos are unrelated to modified tractors being allegedly used by farmers in their protest at Delhi border in February 2024.
Claim: Viral videos show modified, expensive tractors being used by protesting farmers demanding guaranteed crop price at Delhi border in February 2024.
Conclusion: False, the video1 shows a Turkey modified tractor, not available in India, while the second one is an AI-generated image.
Rating: Misrepresentation — 
