A thirty-second commercial supporting the ongoing farmers' protest in India was aired in Fresno County area in California during the pre-game coverage of the Super Bowl, BOOM was able to confirm.
BOOM reached out to Nexstar Broadcasting and the creators of the ad who confirmed that the said ad aired at 2.58 pm PST on February 7, 2020, in Fresno County before the Super Bowl football game between Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Kansas City Chiefs. The Super Bowl is an annual football championship and the most watched television event in the United States.
The 30-second clip starts with a quote by Martin Luther King Jr. saying, "injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere," and goes on to play visuals from the ongoing protests. The montage ends with a message from Jerry Dyer, Mayor of the city of Fresno, who says, "we want you to know, our brothers and sisters in India, that we stand with you."
The local ad went viral after handles supporting the protests shared it.
However, some right wing social media users questioned whether the ad aired at all.
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FACT CHECK
On searching with the keywords 'Fresno' 'Farmers Protest' 'super bowl ad' on Facebook, we found posts by Raj Sodhi-Layne on the ad and the Go Fund Me post to raise money to broadcast the ad.
Indian-American Raj Sodhi-Layne, a banker based in Fresno along with her friends produced the video and crowd funded $10,000 to broadcast the ad on CBS 47 to raise awareness about the ongoing farmers' protests in India. The commercial was created by Teji Video - a production company.
The fundraiser was titled 'Support Farmers in India with AD Superbowl Sunday' on Go Fund Me and had managed to raise $11,123 in 24 hours.
Sodhi-Layne speaking to BOOM confirmed that she had started the fundraiser and confirmed that the ad indeed ran saying, "It was real, It aired at 3 pm Fresno county time and 650,000 viewers saw it in Fresno county before the pre-game show. It will air 10 more times in Fresno."
"This ad is for all farmers in the world because it is becoming difficult for small farmers everywhere, for the last few months we have been watching in the news some terrible videos coming out from India, people and journalists are missing and strange things happening. During the pandemic when I see pictures of old men and women from the protests, I see my parents who had moved from India, and a lot of families all over the world own land in India which connects us. There is a big connection between farming in India and in the US," added Sodhi-Layne.
BOOM also reached out to JR Jackson, Vice President and General Manager of KSEE-TV (NBC 24), KGPE-TV (CBS 47), Nexstar Inc. who confirmed that the ad aired during the Super Bowl pregame coverage. "I can confirm that the :30 TV commercial aired in Super Bowl pregame coverage, specifically at 2:58 pm PST," Jackson told BOOM via email.
We also found a news report on the ad by the channel on the Farmers' protest ad.
According to Superbowl-ads.com national ads aired during the Super Bowl were sold for around $5.5 million each for 30 seconds spots this year. The Super Bowl, the annual championship game of the National Football League (NFL) is famously known for airing high-profile television commercials featured on the game day with these ads becoming a cultural phenomenon of their own alongside the game itself.
The farmers' protests in India garnered renewed attention globally after pop star Rihanna, environmental activist Greta Thurnberg and former adult movie actress Mia Khalifa tweeted about the protests recently drawing a sharp reaction from the Indian government.
Also Read: Farmers' Protests: Photoshopped Photo Of Rihanna With Pak Flag Goes Viral
BOOM has debunked misinformation around the farmers' protests. Several false claims had gone viral to target the protesting farmers and old photos, videos being shared as recent.
Follow our thread on misinformation around the farmers' protests.