A set of two photos - New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern wearing a black headscarf and a photo of a black colour Air New Zealand plane is being shared with the false claim that she wore black and ordered the plane to be painted in the same colour in support of the farmers' protest.
This is being shared in the backdrop of farmers observing 'black day' on May 26, 2021, to mark six months of protests against farm laws passed by the central government. (Read here)
The set of photos are being shared with the caption which reads, "New Zealand's PM surprised the world by supporting Black Day by wearing a black suit in favor of the farmers of India and getting the government plane painted black."
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(In Hindi - न्यूजीलैंड की pm ने भारत के किसानो के पक्ष मे काला सूट पहनकर व सरकार जहाज को काला रंग करवाकर ब्लैक डे का समर्थन कर दुनिया को चौका दिया)
Viral on Facebook
On searching on Facebook with the same caption, we found that the photos were being shared with the false claim.
BOOM also received the viral photos on its WhatsApp helpline number (7700906111).
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FACT-CHECK
BOOM found that the viral photos are old and unrelated, and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has not come out in support of the ongoing farmers' protest as being falsely claimed.
The first photo of Ardern in a black dress and headscarf is from March 2019, after the Christchurch mosque shootings in New Zealand. Ardern met members of the Muslim community to offer support and condolences to the family members of those killed in the shooting.
This was following a white supremacist Brenton Tarrant, who had live-streamed and opened fire killing 51 people in a mosque in Christchurch, News Zealand in March 2019. (Read here)
We can spot the same photo on Getty Images stating, "New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern with a head scarf in respect to the Muslim victims, greets to members of Muslim community as she leaves after the Friday Islamic prayers in Hagley Park outside the Masjid Al Noor mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand on March 22, 2019."
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The second photo of the black Air New Zealand plane is also old and the plane was not painted black in support of the farmers' protest. Air New Zealand had revealed the new livery design for the first aircraft in its new domestic jet fleet in December 2010, which matches the viral photo.
"In celebration of Air New Zealand's long running support of rugby in New Zealand, our first new A320 will arrive in January sporting a sleek black livery complete with silver fern motif and Koru on its tail," Air New Zealand CEO Rob Fyfe had then stated in December 2010.
The thumbnail of the YouTube video uploaded by Air New Zealand on December 8, 2010, matches the viral photo.
Additionally, we did not find any credible news reports stating that Ardern had come out in support of the ongoing farmers' protest.
