FACT CHECK: Does This Image Show Farmers Protesting In New Zealand?

An image shared on Facebook purportedly shows farmers protesting on tractors in New Zealand.

Verdict: False

The image, which was taken in 2019, actually shows a farmers’ protest in the Netherlands, not New Zealand.

Fact Check:

In recent days, New Zealand farmers have been participating in a demonstration called “Howl Of A Protest,” and have been driving their tractors into cities, causing traffic jams, Reuters reported. The farmers are protesting the New Zealand government’s environmental and climate change policies, among other regulations, that some believe are hurting their business, according to the outlet.

Now some social media users have been sharing an image, supposedly from the protests, showing dozens of tractors driving down one side of a highway. “Farmer’s protest today! pukekohe to Auckland,” the image’s caption reads. “Standing up to our tyrannical government that are land grabbing and destroying farmer’s lively hoods. We need to support them for the farmers feed us!”

The image does not, however, show the recent New Zealand protests. Through a reverse image search, Check Your Fact found a near-identical photo on Shutterstock. The image shared on Facebook appears to have flipped and cropped the original photo. The photo was actually taken in the Netherlands in 2019, according to its caption on Shutterstock.

“Farmers block the A28 Highway with their tractors between Hoogeveen and Meppel in The Netherlands, 01 October 2019,” the image’s caption reads. “The farmers joined a national protest in The Hague.” (RELATED: Did Stacey Abrams Say, ‘We Don’t Need Farmers, When We Have Grocery Stores’?)

The 2019 protest was in response to proposed measures of reducing nitrogen emissions that some farmers felt unfairly targeted their profession, NPR reported.