A photo is circulating on social media, claiming that it depicts modified tractors intended for use by farmers to avoid tear gas shells and to dismantle barricades set up by the police in the context of ‘Delhi Chalo’ farmers’ protest rally in Delhi on 13 February 2024. Through this article, let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Photo depicting modified tractors intended for use in the ‘Delhi Chalo’ farmers protest rally in Delhi on 13 February 2024.
Fact: There are several media reports indicating that farmers are likely to use modified tractors during the farmers’ protest rally in Delhi on 13 February 2024. According to an ANI report, a Central Intelligence Agency official, in conversation with them, mentioned that intelligence agencies have alerted the police about how tractors were fitted with hydraulic tools to remove police barricades. Farmers are alleged to have prepared fire-resistant hard-shell trailers to counter tear gas shells, and drills with these modified vehicles were allegedly conducted. OpIndia, in their article, clarified that the photo used is a representative image created by AI and not a real photo. We further examined this viral photo using an AI detector tool called HIVE, and it indicated that this viral photo is highly likely (99.4%) to have been generated by AI. Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
Demanding enactment of a minimum support price (MSP) law for crops, implementation of Swaminathan Commission recommendations, pensions for farmers and farm labourers, the waiver of farm loans, withdrawal of police cases registered during the earlier farmers’ protest, and justice for Lakhimpur Kheri victims, several farmers’ associations have called for a farmer’s protest rally named ‘Delhi Chalo’ on 13th February 2024. Media articles reporting the same can be found here & here.
Several reports indicate that the police have set up barricades to prevent any untoward incidents (here & here).
In this context, a photo is going viral, claiming that farmers have modified their tractors to avoid tear gas shells and remove barricades put up by the police during the rally. To check the veracity of this viral claim, we conducted a relevant keyword search on the internet, which led us to several reports stating that central intelligence agencies have alerted the Punjab, Haryana, and Delhi Police about the usage of modified tractors in theDelhi Farmers’ protest rally. Media articles reporting the same can be found here, here & here. According to an ANI report, a Central Intelligence Agency official, in a conversation with them, mentioned that intelligence agencies have alerted the police about the upcoming farmers’ rally in Delhi. More than 25,000 farmers and 5000 tractors from various districts of Punjab and Haryana are expected to reach Delhi to participate in the farmers’ protest rally. Some tractors were equipped with hydraulic tools to clear barricades set up by the police, and farmers prepared fire-resistant hard-shell trailers to counter tear gas shells. They also allegedly conducted drills with these modified vehicles.
To know more information about the viral image, we conducted a reverse image search on the internet. This search led us to a news report published by OpIndia that used the same image. In their article, OpIndia clarified that the photo used in the news report is a representative image created by AI and not an authentic photograph.
Additionally, to ascertain whether this photo was created by AI, we analyzed the viral image using the HIVE AI detector tool, which is designed to identify AI-generated images. The results indicated a high likelihood (99.4%) that this viral photo was indeed created by AI. From all this information, it is evident that the viral image is an AI-generated one. But AI detector tools don’t always provide accurate results. An article by The New York Times discussing the accuracy of AI detection tools in identifying AI-generated images can be seen here.
To sum it up, a viral image depicting modified tractors for the ‘Delhi Chalo’ farmers protest rally is created using AI.
