Many Dutch farmers took to the streets to protest the government's plan to reduce fertilizer use and livestock. Farmers in the Netherlands began a day of protests on Monday, July 4, 2022, by blocking supermarket distribution hubs in several cities.
Dutch Farmers Protest Over Emission Cuts
According to Dutch News, Dutch farmers are protesting because the government wants to reduce nitrogen compound emissions by half by 2030 and by seventy percent in Natura 2000 areas. According to the same report, the latest protests were sparked by a government announcement suggesting some farm closures and a detailed map of areas affected by reductions ranging from 12% to 95%.
The government stated that nitrogen oxide and ammonia emissions near natural areas must be drastically reduced as part of a network of protected habitats. Meanwhile, Dutch farmers claimed that the new policies would harm their industry.
Since the first protests on July 4, 2022, the protests have sparked serious discussions about farmers' rights online, resulting in a wave of misleading and false narratives.
Misinformation Amid Dutch Farmers' Protests
Following the Dutch farmer protests, numerous false stories have recently circulated on social media platforms. Users have falsely shared a video of a restored tank used in a show, claiming that it shows Dutch farmers bringing a tank to block distribution centers during the latest protests.
The Tank Museum (Bovington, Bovington Camp) posted photos of the tank in the circulating clip to Facebook on May 2, 2022, as a restored tank to running order in 2020 that "will be appearing at TANKFEST for the first time." The Facebook page also encouraged its followers to purchase show tickets.
Photo description: The tank that appeared on the circulating video.
A document about Sherman firefly tanks also featured the tank within its tanks listing with the caption: “Sherman Vc – Classic MV’s, Haaksbergen (Netherlands) Serial Number 21938, built by Chrysler in July 1943. This is a 75mm Sherman hull (most likely ex-Israeli M51) with a loose ex-Belgium Firefly turret with it (Maurice Donckers). Ex Littlefield collection.”
Misbar’s team has also debunked an image featuring dozens of tractors blocking the road, purporting it depicts the Dutch farmers protesting across the Netherlands. It turned out that the photograph predates the protests as it was captured in 2019 by Robin Van Lonkhuijsen for the Dutch News Agency ANP.
Photo description: The image is old.
Other users have posted online a video claiming it shows the Dutch farmers throwing objects at police. However, the video is unrelated to the most recent farming demonstrations. It is old and shows protests in The Hague, Netherlands, against COVID-19 measures against police officers in August 2020.
Photo description: The video is unrelated to the protests.
This wave of misinformation during the farming protests raised serious concerns about the efficacy of Twitter's crisis misinformation policy, which was recently implemented to combat viral and false content that can harm vulnerable groups, especially since most of the misleading narratives about demonstrations were shared on Twitter.
Misbar’s Sources:
Bloomberg
Dutch News
The Tank Museum
http://the.shadock.free.fr/
Misbar
Misbar
Twitter
