A video accompanied by a post is being widely shared on social media claiming that PM Modi’s motorcade was attacked by farmers in the United States during his recent visit there. Let us fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video of PM Modi’s motorcade being attacked by farmers in the United States.
Fact: The video is of protesters who were being filmed when they were attacking police vehicles in Melbourne during anti-COVID lockdown protests. These protests were happening in Melbourne since the authorities shut construction sites, saying workers frequent movement was spreading coronavirus. In around late September, protesters dressed as construction workers clashed and attacked police vehicles in Melbourne. PM Modi concluded his three-day official visit to the United States on 25 September 2021, but there were no news reports of his motorcade being attacked by farmers in the US. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When reverse image search is done on the screenshots of the video with relevant keywords, a news video report with similar visuals was found. The report was published on 21 September 2021 with the title, ‘Protesters filmed kicking, smashing windows of police vehicles in Melbourne’s CBD’. Though the footage shows people rushing several police vehicles, these were protesters in Melbourne’s Central Business District (CBD) who were filmed attacking police vehicles. Lengtheir videos with similar visuals can also be seen in the tweets by journalists here and here, which say these incidents were from Melbourne and not the United States.
These violent scenes are from protests in Melbourne. Anti-COVID lockdown protests were happening in Melbourne since the authorities shut construction sites, saying workers frequent movement was spreading coronavirus. In around late September, protesters dressed as construction workers clashed and attacked police vehicles in Melbourne. Protesters were initially opposing compulsory vaccinations. Recently, protesters again took to the streets after the mandatory COVID-19 vaccination requirements given by the state government.
PM Modi concluded his three-day official visit to the United States on 25 September 2021, but there were no news reports of his motorcade being attacked by farmers in the US.
To sum it up, video of protesters attacking police vehicles in Melbourne is shared as PM Modi’s motorcade attacked by farmers in the US.
