Fact check: Misleading beer festival video claims to show Italian farmers’ protest

A viral video has falsely claimed that Italian farmers are protesting against the government by blocking major roads.

The drone footage shows a number of tractors congregated on a street, loudly sounding their horns.

Social media users have alleged that it shows farmers in Italy are “fighting back against enforced farming legislation” that is supposedly “crippling” food supplies. 

Euronews has fact-checked these claims.

The video actually shows an event during the Villa Tractor Beer Fest held in the northern Italian town of Villafranca Piemonte on 23 July.

The organisers of the festival shared the identical aerial drone footage of tractors in a video on Facebook on 25 July.

According to a promotional leaflet, the gathering had been held with the support of the local council to celebrate the local agriculture industry.

There is no evidence of any link between the beer festival and anti-government farmers’ protests.

Thousands of agricultural workers have recently gathered in the Netherlands to protest the Dutch government’s plans to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxide and ammonia by 2030.

The weeks-long demonstration has also led to the spread of online misinformation.