An image showing Punjabi actress Sonia Mann and singer Mehtab Virk eating at a langar (community kitchen) is viral with a false backstory that the photo shows a doctor-engineer couple from California participating in the farmers' protest.
The image is being shared with a fake backstory that the duo rather than going on a honeymoon or returning to their lucrative careers in California have decided to take part in the protests in Delhi.
Farmers – majorly from Punjab and Haryana – have been protesting against the centre government's newly formed farm laws. Since November 26, 2020, farmers have organized the 'Delhi Chalo' march. The protests are still going on. Read here.
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The image is viral with a text in Hindi that translates to: "They got married on November 25, the boy is an engineer and the girl is a doctor in California. They came to India to get married, but instead of going back to California or to the honeymoon and even after earning in crores, they are living in such conditions in farmers protest. They are concerned about the farmers of their own country."
(Original text: "इनकी 25 नवम्बर को शादी हुई हैं,लड़का इन्जीनियर हैं और लड़की डाक्टर हैं केलिफोर्निया में, शादी करने भारत आए थे,वापस केलिफोर्निया या हनीमून पर जाने के बजाय किसान आन्दोलन में ऐसे हाल में हैं | जबकि दोनों करोड़ों कमाते हैं, यहाँ इसलिए हैं क्योंकि अपने देश के किसान की चिंता हैं,गोबरभक्तों | बीजेपी और गोदी मीडिया के अनुसार ये भी आतंकवादी,खालिस्तानी और देशद्रोही हैं निकिता जाटोलिया")
Posts can be seen below and its archived version are accessible here and here.
Also Read:2017 Image Of Jat Stir In Haryana Peddled As Farmers' Protest In Delhi
Fact Check
BOOM found that the photo shows Punjabi actress Sonia Mann and singer Mehtab Virk. Social media accounts of Mann and Virk indicate that they support the farmers' protest and have several recent pictures of themselves from protest sites.
The duo did a music video together in September .
"They are just friends and they went there to support the farmer's protest. They are not married and have been visiting various areas in support of the farmers," Harman, a member of Mehtab Virk's management team told BOOM.
We also reached out to Mann through her Instagram handle and got a reply from her social media team which called the viral post - "fake news."
A reverse image search showed the picture uploaded by Mann on November 5, 2020, on her verified Facebook profile. She uploaded the picture with a caption that reads: "
Guru da langar #kisaanektazindabad #kisaan_Andata #kisaani #dharna @iammehtabvirk".
We found the image on her verified Instagram handle as well.
Mann has uploaded other pictures with Virk from the protests as well. Click here.
Virk has uploaded a video clip with Mann in solidarity with the farmers on September 29, 2020. See here.