A photograph showing a Sikh man holding a placard which reads “Ram Mandir = Horror House” is being shared on social media platforms, claiming that it shows a farmer from Punjab.
The claim comes a few days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cavalcade was stuck on a flyover in Punjab in an alleged security “breach”, blocked by protesters.
However, we were able to trace the photo back to January 2021, when a group of pro-Khalistan Sikhs protested in solidarity with protesting farmers in India, outside the Indian consulate in California’s San Francisco in the United States of America (USA).
CLAIM
The claim identifies the person in the photograph as a farmer from Punjab, and is being shared following the PM’s security breach in the state.
An archived version this post can be accessed here.
(Source: Twitter/Screenshot)
WHAT WE FOUND OUT
The post was published in January2021.
(Source: Reddit/Altered by The Quint)
In the comments section of this post, another user shared a link to a CBS news report dated 26 January 2021, that mentioned that the event took place in the Bay Area of San Francisco outside the Indian consulate, amid "continued calls for sovereign nation."
We also came across a tweet by filmmaker Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri who shared the same visuals, placing the event in the US. Agnihotri also shared a video of the protest.
Geolocating The Photo
In the clip shared by Agnihotri, a board which reads 'Arguello Pet Hospital' is visible, written on a rainbow-like display. We looked up the name of this place and found that it was located in San Francisco, California.
Both visuals show the same hospital board.
(Source: Twitter/Google/Altered by The Quint)
We also saw that this hospital was right next to the Indian consulate general, as noted in the CBS report.
Using Google Street View, we looked at the surroundings of the consulate and found a visual match from the CBS report.
The same structures are visible in both visuals.
(Source: CBS/Google/Altered by The Quint)
While we were unable to find the exact photo in any video, we could verify that the image was an old one and was not from Punjab.
Evidently, a photo of a man from a protest that had Khalistan supporters, who protested in solidarity with the farmers' protest in India on 26 January, 2021 in California is being wrongly shared as one showing a farmer from Punjab.
(Not convinced of a post or information you came across online and want it verified? Send us the details on WhatsApp at 9643651818, or e-mail it to us at webqoof@thequint.com and we'll fact-check it for you. You can also read all our fact-checked stories here.)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)