Did Tharindu Uduvaragedare's Speech Mention Plans to Sabotage The Future Government?
දිනපතා සත්ය කරුණු දැන ගැනීමට අපගේ WhatsApp චැනලයටමෙතනින් එකතුවන්න.
There has been a rapid increase in fabricated and out-of-context videos on social media platforms. Below is a fact check we conducted to find the accuracy of such a story published in a misleading manner on social media.
Social Media Claims:
A part of a speech by the journalist Tharindu Uduvaragedare went viral among netizens. In it, he claimed that no matter which party gets power, he will not allow the party to rule the country.
In this video, Tharindu Uduvaragedare purportedly states, “They need to be stopped. No matter who comes to power, we will not let you do this. We would take over. We will be taking power in the next ten years. We would put a stop to this. Wasantha is in politics, Bope is in politics, Shastika is in politics, we are in politics. We would be firing within the next 10 years. We would put a stop to you all.”
You can refer to a web report published regarding this from here.
Some of the responses to these posts even suggested that this was a statement by a National People’s Power (NPP) member.
Below is an investigation we carried out to discover these posts' credibility.
Fact Check:
Tharindu is NOT representing NPP, but the Jana Aragala Movement.
Although some users commented that the person in this video is a National People’s Power member, the person seen here is journalist Tharindu Uduvaragedare, a member of the “Jana Aragala Sandanaya”, supporting presidential candidate Attorney-at-law Nuwan Bopage.
Altered video Distorting the Speech by Tharindu
We drew attention to Tharindu Uduvaragedare's speech at a political rally in Minuwangoda. Upon careful analysis, we found that the viral video had been edited.
The edited version tries to imply that Tharindu Uduvaragedare stated that whoever comes to power will not be allowed to govern. However, when examining the entire video, it is clear that Tharindu has not mentioned such a statement.
Though the viral video clip shows Uduvaragedare stating,” We have to take over them, no matter who comes,” and implies to a future government, by this remark, Tharindu refers to the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, evident in the original video. However, this part has been removed from the edited video. You can refer to the original speech here.
Also, some were confused by the verse Tharindu mentioned, ‘Gas Chambers’, in the video. This is the same “Ceylon Chamber of Commerce” evident here.
You can refer to his full speech here.
The following is a comparison between the edited video and the original footage.
Tharindu states in his speech that a debate was held on August 29th regarding the representatives of the four candidates of the Presidential Election, who are Ranil Wickramasinghe, Sajith Premadasa, Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Namal Rajapakse. He explains that these Presidential Candidates work towards the expectations of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, that they are all the same, and that the ‘Jana Aragala Sandanaya’ is there to change the system.
Clarifications by Tharindu
Another widely discussed point was Tharindu's remark about setting fire to the said organisation, in this case, the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce. Later, using a clarification video and via a phone conversation with Factcrescendo, Tharindu explained that he symbolically meant changing the system through this phrase in the inquiry with us. You can refer to his explanation here.
Furthermore, using a short video, Tharindu sheds more light on the viral clip, saying that different parties with vested interests are making wrong interpretations and sharing altered videos, recreating completely false narratives. He says that the words ‘firing’ and ‘gas chambers’ are all symbolic, and he is talking about changing the system.
Lawyer-activist Nuwan Bopage, the presidential candidate of the ‘Jana Aragala Sandanaya’, states that the video has been completely distorted and that they do not intend to disrupt a democratically elected government.
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Conclusion:
Our investigation shows that the viral videos stating that the journalist Tharindu Uduvaragedare said his party would not allow the country to be ruled by whichever government comes to power are false. Tharindu’s remarks were regarding the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce. This video is edited in a misleading manner, clipping out certain parts.