Fact-Check: This viral video of free liquor distribution is unrelated to Bharat Bandh called by protesting farmers

On the day of 'Bharat Bandh' called by protesting farmers, a video has gone viral on social media. The widely circulated video showed people receiving alcohol for free from a car. Men of different ages were seen extending their hands holding disposable glasses and dishes through the open windows of the car as a man filled them at random with alcohol. 

Those who shared the video on Friday claimed that the free alcohol distribution was arranged by the organisers of the Bharat Bandh for its supporters. 

"The so-called food provider! In this scorching sun, after ploughing, satisfying the sweaty body and dry throat with water. You are blessed, Khamkhan people are defaming you by calling you a hired pony!" a tweet, that was seen by over 7,000 people on X (Twitter) during the time of compiling this report, was captioned. 

One of the viral X posts that carried the video

However, there were little to no details on where the video was shot. 

OSINT Probe

When a screengrab of the viral video was reverse searched, Google Lens retrieved multiple matches. There were a handful of archived images from smhoaxslayer.com. They were all clickbaits to a fact-check story from 2021. 

The video had multiple matches on fact-check articles

Also among the Google results was a news article by newsnation.tv from February 7, 2021.

A news article from 2021 with the viral video

Thus it was confirmed that the video in question was at least three years old and unrelated to the ongoing farmers's protest.

But why did the video come under the radar of multiple news platforms? We ran a keyword search and understood that many fact-check websites had published articles on the video in February 2021. This was the time farmers were on a warpath against the controversial three farm laws. The video was used to spread misinformation about the agitating ryots on social media -- a hoax campaign similar to the ongoing one.

Media reports in 2021 had proved beyond doubt that the video first appeared on the internet in 2020 -- well before the farmers launched a protest against the NDA government at the centre. 

A Facebook upload of the same video from April 2020 can be found below.

Thus, it is proven that the video of people getting free alcohol from a car is unrelated to the Bharat Bandh or the ongoing farmers' protest.

FACT CHECK

Claim: Free liquor distribution as part of the Bharat Bandh called by farmers

Verdict: Not True

Fact: The video predates the ongoing farmers's protest. It is available online at least since 2020