Ever since the farmers' protest against the new farm laws broke out and most recently violence erupted on January 26, there has been a flurry of misinformation and false content being passed off as recent. The trend continued this week with a video of Nihang Sikhs attacking a bus with swords going viral on social media, claiming to be related to the ongoing farmers' protest.
The claim
A viral video showed a group of Nihang Sikhs riding on horses, carrying swords and seen arguing with a bus driver and even attacking the bus. The Pepsu Road Transport Corporation (PRTC) bus could be seen escaping the scene after the Sikhs turned violent.
JHAI HO KISSAN ANDOLAN pic.twitter.com/4akotVGRCr
— Sandy Boy ??(Sundeep) (@ssingapuri) February 6, 2021
The video was passed off as recent and many users shared it widely on social media platforms, criticising the farmers. To make matters worse, even a news outlet tweeted the video of the attack, which was further shared by Haryana Roadways Facebook page, which has over 40,000 followers. The video garnered over 7 million views on Facebook and over a lakh on Twitter when the news channel shared it.
"Nation is watching everything with patience... Not just those resorting to such action... But also those supporting them... #IndiaAgainstPropaganda #KhalistaniExposed," the local news channel tweeted.
Fact check
International Business Times took notice of the viral video and performed a reverse image search of a screenshot to find out that the incident is completely unrelated to the ongoing farmers' protest. Moreover, the incident took place in September 2019.
Several news publications had carried the news about the attack by Nihang Sikhs on a PRTC bus in September 2019. According to reports, the violence was triggered after the bus allegedly hit one of the horses belonging to the Sikh men.
The Jagran Hindi news outlet had a detailed account of the incident, where it was mentioned that the incident took place close to Tahli Gurudwara near Sunnada bridge around 8 am. The driver was taking a Kapurthala depot bus (PB09-X-3613) from Nakodar to Kapurthala on September 14 and accidentally hit one of the horses riding on the side of the bus.
But the video from this incident was shared as though recent by several verified users on social media, triggering outrage. International Business Times reviewed the facts and arrived at the conclusion that the claim is misleading and the incident is entirely unrelated to the ongoing farmers' protest.
