A real propaganda photo of Italian dictator Mussolini harvesting wheat?

Claim:

In an authentic photo, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini participates in the wheat harvest.

Rating:

Context

Although this historic photo and several others like it are authentic, Mussolini’s participation in the harvest was staged for propaganda purposes.

A viral photo claims to show early 20th century Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini harvesting wheat in a field. Photo shared on X and Reddit among other social media platforms shows a shirtless man wearing a cap and glasses holding wheat stalks.

(user X @padresj)

The photo went viral in October 2024, ahead of the US presidential election and after the Republican candidate, former President Donald Trump, arranged a photo op French fries are served at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania.

One caption for the photo said“A staged propaganda photo of Fascist (sic) leader Benito Mussolini ‘harvesting’ wheat in 1938”.

another claimed“In 1938, Benito Mussolini closed a wheat field and had a photo shoot showing him picking hay to show himself as a simple working man.” Some posts directly compared Trump’s photo session with Mussolini.

The image is authentic. Mussolini did participate in a staged wheat harvest photo shoot to promote his “battle for wheat“or”battle of grain” initiative. We found numerous similar photos and shots of him in wheat fields. The program began in 1925 and ran for more than a decade, although the exact date of this photograph is unknown. Therefore, we evaluate this statement as true.

We also found a photo posted on Wikimedia Commons and in Il MattinoItalian newspaper, in an article about Mussolini’s sex life and his aggressive tendencies.

It was also available on Image of Bridgemanarchive of historical photographs and fine arts. It was described in the following edition: “Photograph of Benito Mussolini (1883-1945) Italian politician, journalist, leader of the National Fascist Party and Prime Minister of Italy. Dated from the 20th century.” (Image by Bridgeman stated the photo was from 1940, not 1938 as claimed in the post above.)

The image the one below appears to be taken in a similar setting to the social media posts above. According to the caption: “Dictator Benito MUSSOLINI, shirtless, harvesting wheat with peasants in the 1940s.” The image title states that the photo is from 1940.

(Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone/Getty Images)

Image caption lower it reads: “Benito Mussolini working with farmers of Borgo Montello during threshing, wheat festival, Latina, July 9, 1934, Italy, 20th century.”

(DEA PICTURE LIBRARY/Getty Images)

Associated Press and British Pate archival footage of the time covering Mussolini’s wheat campaign. AP footage from 1928:

British Pathé video signature noted that the event was clearly staged: “MV Benito Mussolini (Il Duce) feeds wheat into the thresher. He helps with the harvest. We see a cameraman recording this staged event. Many of the people surrounding the Italian leader are not really dressed to work in the fields. Another perspective on which Il Duce feeds the wheat.”

Archive year 1928 article published by The Guardian, recounts how a fascist leader (known as the “Duche” or “Leader”) awarded rewards for wheat production—including himself:

This morning at the Teatro Argentina in Rome, the Duce handed out prizes of between £20 and £200 to Italian farmers who had increased their grain production in the past year. Benito Mussolini himself, who tripled the production of his small experimental farm in his home village of Carpena in the province of Forli, was among the winners of the £20 prize.

Before the presentation of the award, Signor Mussolini made a speech which was broadcast throughout Italy, in which he said to loud cheers: “The grain harvest of 1928 reached 62,250,000 quintals, an increase of 10,000,000 quintals over the previous year’s crop. It is a great step in the final victory in the struggle for grain, which will eventually make Italy self-sufficient.”

The government, said the Duce, has placed agriculture as the first and desired article of the national economy. “Our victory was won first of all with the blood of the peasant, and it is the agricultural population that constitutes our real army.” The speech, following a law unveiled last week under which the government would expropriate the estates of large landowners who do not want to increase yields, is part of an intensive “return to the land” policy launched by fascism.

Mussolini too introduced a high tariff on imported wheat, and grain prices were kept artificially high. According to A., the initiative led to an increase in wheat production and had a positive long-term impact on industrialization researcher from the University of Naples. However, according to the archive Time log history of 1938, the “wheat battle” mostly benefited large landowners who could easily sell surplus stocks to the government, while average small farmers barely produced enough for their own needs.

Sources