දිනපතා සත්ය කරුණු දැන ගැනීමට අපගේ WhatsApp චැනලයට මෙතනින් එකතුවන්න.
Misusing photographs to gain a political advantage, assigning them alternative meanings, and circulating edited or fabricated content are common occurrences on social media. This fact-check examines one such post shared online.
Social Media Posts:
Social media users suggested that Charith Abeysinghe had posted the caption given below to one of his recent Facebook posts, which featured group photos of SJB and NPP leaders, Sajith Premadasa and Namal Rajapaksa, respectively.
“In 2030, Sajith will definitely be the President and Namal the Prime Minister. We will make it happen. If not, I will come naked from Horana to Galle Face”
The claim has been shared purporting to be a screenshot presented as evidence of the alleged post.
Fact Check :
No such Facebook post was published.
We first examined Samagi Jana Balawegaya organiser for Horana Electorate, Charith Abeysinghe’s official Facebook page, to check whether he had made the alleged comments.
It was observed that Charith Abeysinghe had posted the same two photographs used in the viral post of himself with Sajith Premadasa and Namal Rajapaksa on his Facebook page on December 23.
However, instead of the caption shown in the above viral claims, the original post on Charith’s FB page was captioned, “Isn’t it beautiful?”, as seen below.
We also reviewed the edit history of the post to determine whether Charith Abeysinghe had previously shared a different statement and later edited or removed it. Our review found no indication that such a caption as claimed in viral posts had ever been posted or subsequently deleted.
Similarly, we reviewed whether Mr Charith Abeysinghe had made such a statement elsewhere or during any public appearances or programs he participated in. Our review found no such evidence either.
Charith Abeysinghe
To further verify the claim, we contacted Mr Charith Abeysinghe. He stated that the viral Facebook post was never published by him and that the purported screenshot is a falsely edited version, created using one of his original posts.
Charith further stated that while he is working towards making SJB leader, Sajith Premadasa win the next presidential election, Namal Rajapaksa would not serve as the PM under a government led by Sajith Premadasa.
Samagi Jana Balawegaya Media Division
The Samagi Jana Balawegaya Media Division also confirmed that Charith Abeysinghe did not publish the alleged post and that the image circulating on social media is a fabrication.
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Conclusion :
Our investigation confirms that Charith Abeysinghe had not published a social media post stating, “In 2030, Sajith will definitely be President and Namal will be Prime Minister. If not, I will come naked from Horana to Galle Face”
The post circulating online is an caption edited version, created using a post previously shared on Charith’s official Facebook page.
Title:“Sajith President & Namal Prime Minister in 2030”, a statement falsely attributed to Charith Abeysinghe.
Fact Check By: Pavithra SandamaliResult: False
