The internet is full of some wild ideas, and sometimes a video can be so well produced and polished it’s hard to tell if the story being told is real or not. Our B.S. meter was off the charts earlier this week when a trusted and long-time ag media professional sent us a YouTube video that claimed Case IH had shut down its Racine and Fargo plants with no notice. His question, was it true and had we heard about it? It had garnered over 50k views. That is 50,000 people who don’t know any better and are believing this garbage.

All the video footage being shown was not directly related to either plant, and in fact it prominently featured Bill Preller at what looked to be a Farm Progress Show from years past. We know Preller, the founder of AGuru, well. He hasn’t worked for Case IH since 2014.

While the original video has been pulled, other videos with sensationalized claims are making the rounds, some with thousands of views. In case you want to see how quickly a B.S. wildfire can spread, check out the latest Google Video Search Results. In all, these videos have over 160,000 views and counting. 

Since my original search for largely AI generated videos on the topic, another one has come to my attention — and it kicks off with yours truly. This was an unauthorized use of me and On the Record. Not to mention, the video clip they took is 11 years old! The video alone has over 20,000 views. 

I did a quick search of Wisconsin’s WARN notices; there have been no Case IH layoffs in the state since September 2024 when 52 employees at the St. Nazianz facility were let go. As for the news about the Fargo, N.D., plant, Farm Equipment reported in March, about 200 people were laid off from the Fargo, N.D., plant, but there's been no news of any more layoffs. 

It’s not news to those of us who are working in the ag equipment industry day in and day out that manufacturers are laying off production employees. Large ag equipment sales were down in every category in 2024. No one likes to see layoffs, but layoffs happen when demand goes down. 

The point here is really, use a critical eye when viewing “news.” If you scroll down to the bottom of the info box on a YouTube video, look for the header “How this content was made.” In the instance of this video, it notes that it has “Altered or synthetic content” and states that sound or visuals were significantly edited or digitally edited. 

Rest assured, we will hear about it if Case IH is suddenly shutting its doors and will cover it responsibly.