Farmers Movement Archive

Tractor rally: Theories, rumours make social media site of protests too

NEW DELHI: Social media became a hub of rumours, conspiracy theories and debates on Tuesday, as farmers on tractors entered Delhi swiftly converting the Capital into a theatre of violence. As the protesters broke barricades, and clashed with police, the internet captured every minute of the action. Pictures of the protest flooded Twitter, starting as early as 9am, when farmers started out for Delhi from Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur borders. Two trends, #HappyRepublicDay2021 and #HistoricTractorMarch, dominated the microblogging site. The beginning was marked by pictures of farmers showered with flower petals. Videos of their peaceful march were shared by Twitterati as an example of true democracy and as reflective of the spirit of the Republic. But soon after, chaotic images of farmers breaking barricades and upturning DTC buses put in the way as obstacles by ramming against them with heavy machinery began to flood Twitter. Several people, including members of the ruling party, questioned the protesters' motives. Many internet users, including members of Opposition parties, also condemned the violence. Political activist Yogendra Yadav and Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan called for peace as conditions deteriorated. A hashtag, calling for police to actively rein in the protesters, also began to trend online around 12pm. "Delhi Police Lath Bajao (Delhi Police Use Batons) drew 83k tweets and by the evening had attracted over 259k tweets. The death of a farmer during the protest also became a subject of rumour and debate. As agitators entered Red Fort and planted Sikhs' holy flag, users took to Twitter to criticize the move, stating that the historic monument should not have been "sieged". Visuals of a man, climbing a pole to hoist the orange flag, were shared widely. A certain section labelled the protesters as extremists. However, a large number of Twitter users also shared videos of farmers helping cops at the peak of violence and even pleading with them to clear the blockaded roads.

The Times of India

2021-01-27

Delhi