The edited image portraying a huge crowd for the SLPP rally in Thambuttegama

A photo has been circulating on social media these days, claiming to be from the Thambuttegama rally attended by Sri Lanka Podujana Peramune national organiser Namal Rajapaksa. This is a fact-check regarding that post.

Social Media Posts :

This photograph, which has been posted with the caption ‘A large crowd gathered in Thambuttegama’, attempts to convey the idea that a large number of people had participated in the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna rally held in Thambuttegama a few days ago. In the photo, Namal Rajapaksa is seen walking forward through the crowd.

Facebook | Archived Link

This post was published by many other Facebook pages.

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At first glance, it is apparent that this photo has been created as a collage by cloning. Many social media users have also stated this.

To find the credibility of this post, we did a fact-check.

Fact Check:

Mainstream Media Reports

We initially investigated the mainstream media reports to check whether such a large crowd had arrived for the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna rally held in Thambuttegama on the 17th. Hiru NEWS Ada Derana News 1st

Although a large crowd can be seen, it is not as seen in the circulated photo.

However, the special incident related to this rally was the confrontation between the police and the SLPP supporters after the police informed them to remove some of the banners that had been put up in Thambuttegama town in relation to the rally.

Meanwhile, upon closer inspection of the photo circulating on social media, the faces and hands of several people can be seen in several places, and the photo appears unnatural.

Accordingly, we further investigated the facts to find the original photo and it was originally posted on the official Facebook account of Namal Rajapaksa.

Facebook | Archived Link

In addition, this photograph was also used for the Lankadeepa news report.

Thus, it is clear that the original photo has been edited in a misleading way to convey the idea that a large number of people participated in the rally.

We also observed that several parties on social media have blamed each other for editing the photo and misleading the community.

Here is a video clip of the rally organised by the SLPP in Thambuttegama town, posted by Namal Rajapaksa’s media unit. Here are some photos.

Join us to learn more about our investigative fact findings.

Conclusion :

Our investigation shows that the photo posted with the caption, “A large crowd gathered in Thambuttegama”, is an edited photo.

Title:The edited image portraying a huge crowd for the SLPP rally in Thambuttegama

Fact Check By: Fact Crescendo Team

Result: Misleading