Fact Check: Fake National Geographic Magazine Cover Featuring Farmer Protest Goes Viral

Has National Geographic magazine devoted its “Winter 2020” edition to restless farmers?

An image that looks like a magazine cover with “National Geographic” written on it, along with a photo of a man wearing a turban, has gone viral with the claim that the magazine cover features ongoing farmer protests at Delhi border.

Several Facebook and Twitter users shared the image and thanked National Geographic for the gesture.

India Today Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) has discovered that said cover image is in fact an imaginary work of art by an Instagram user. National Geographic has not featured the farmer unrest on the cover in any of its editions so far.

Archived versions of articles are saved here, here and here.

The truth

We have carefully reviewed National Geographic website, but could not find any recent articles or cover images highlighting the unrest among farmers in India.

On the contrary, recent editions of the magazine present problems that are not even remotely related to the protests of the farmers.

Looking closely, we found “@anoopreet” written in the lower right corner of the image. While searching on social media, we found the user’s Instagram account.

On January 3, 2021, she posted this “imagined cover”, clearly mentioning that it is her artistic creation based on a photograph clicked by photojournalist Ravi Choudhary of PTI.

Ravi Choudhary posted this photo on Instagram on December 27, 2020, with the caption “Green revolutionaries of 2020!”

Therefore, it is confirmed that the viral image released with the claim that it is the cover image of National Geographic magazine is in fact a work of art by an Instagram user. The magazine has so far not featured the protest on the cover of any of its editions.