Old Video Goes Viral As Douglas Devananda Attacked by His Followers!

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Many former parliamentarians lost their seats in the recently concluded general election. Many have posted hateful and satirical posts targeting these former MPs. In this background, we came across a misleading video falsely claiming to be an attack on one such former parliamentarian from Jaffna, Douglas Devananda.

Social Media Posts 

A video is being widely shared online with captions suggesting that it shows Douglas Devananda, a longstanding member of parliament in Sri Lanka, being physically attacked by his followers. The claim asserts that the attack occurred following his recent electoral defeat in the 2024 Sri Lankan general election. 

https://www.awesomescreenshot.com/video/33659198?key=f2420348bbbda1865f6690f6caa2e114

Fb | Archive

This claim was viral among WhatsApp users as well.

Fact Check 

Verification Steps

Mainstream Media Check: Our first step was to check if any credible news outlets had reported an incident involving Devananda being attacked after the election. Mainstream media reported no such incident, nor did any verified sources cover an altercation of this nature involving Douglas Devananda after the election.

Police Statement: We also reviewed recent briefings from the Sri Lankan Police spokesperson. No reports or mentions of an attack on Devananda post-election were found, indicating that this story had no recent official acknowledgement.

We also contacted the Jaffna Police Station, who confirmed that no such incident happened during or after the general election.

Video Analysis: We analysed the viral video’s keyframes and keywords, and our findings indicated that this footage is not recent; it actually dates back over 5 months and is unrelated to the recent election.

Original Context of the Video: Further investigation revealed that the incident occurred during the opening ceremony of a new cement factory in Ponnaweli, Kilinochchi, not at a Jaffna beach, back in April 2024. 

The factory’s construction had removed local mangroves and paddy fields, sparking outrage among locals. Consequently, villagers protested on the inauguration day, voicing their concerns over the factory’s environmental and social impact.

Confirmation from Douglas Devananda: We reached out to Devananda, who confirmed that the incident in the video indeed involved him, but it occurred several months ago in Kilinochchi, not in Jaffna. Devananda said tensions flared at the opening ceremony when he arrived as Minister of Fisheries at that time. Protesters confronted him, and the situation escalated briefly until his security intervened.

The media reports about the incident can be reached from here and here. More details about the factory can be read here. 

Read in Sinhala: මැතිවරණ පරාජයෙන් පසු, ඩග්ලස් දේවානන්දට ඔහුගේම පාක්ෂිකයන් පහරදීමක් සිදුකළා ද?

Douglas Devananda’s general election campaign raised several eyebrows, and contesting from EPDP, he failed to win any seat. As a result, this marks an end to his long-lasting career as a parliamentarian, where he has represented the parliament for 3 consecutive decades since 1994. 

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Conclusion

This video does not depict an attack on Douglas Devananda by his followers after an election loss, as claimed on social media. Instead, it shows an April 2024 incident where villagers protested against a new cement factory in Kilinochchi due to environmental concerns. The protest escalated when Devananda arrived to inaugurate the factory, and his security intervened.

The claim circulating on social media is, therefore, false and misleading. The video predates the recent election and is unrelated to any post-election events or alleged attacks on Devananda by his followers.