Photos of MP Namal and Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa with Tamil Nadu Politicians?

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Images purportedly showing Namal Rajapaksa and Mahinda Rajapaksa travelling in a vehicle with politicians from Tamil Nadu, India, have been widely shared recently. However, our investigation found these images to be digitally altered.

Social Media Posts :

An image purporting to show “Naam Tamilar Katchi” party leader Seeman travelling in a motor vehicle alongside Namal Rajapaksa and Mahinda Rajapaksa was posted on the X (formerly Twitter) platform in Tamil, with a caption that translates as “What is this?””

X | Archived Link

A second post using the same image claimed that Tamil Nadu’s new Chief Minister Thalapathy Vijay was also seated in the back of the vehicle alongside the two Sri Lankan politicians. Posted with an English-language caption, it questoning when the photograph was taken and whether it was genuine.

We took steps to verify the accuracy of these claims.

Fact-Check :

If former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and MP Namal Rajapaksa had met key Tamil Nadu political leaders such as Seeman and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Thalapathy Vijay, both Sri Lankan and Indian mainstream media would have reported it. Our investigation found no such news coverage anywhere.

We submitted viral image to a Google Reverse Image Search. This revealed that the original photograph had been posted on Namal Rajapaksa’s Facebook page on 15 March 2014. In the original image, taken 12 years ago, the person seated behind the Rajapaksas at the back of the vehicle is neither Seeman nor Vijay, it is an entirely different individual.

The original post stated that Namal Rajapaksa was travelling with former President Mahinda Rajapaksa on the expressway that had just been opened from Galle to Matara at that time.

Facebook | Archived Link

It is therefore clear that the images of Seeman and Vijay were digitally inserted into the back seat of the vehicle in place of the person who was there in the original photograph.

When the circulating image was submitted to an AI image detection tool, the analysis confirmed that the image had been generated using artificial intelligence.

Statement from Namal Rajapaksa

We contacted Namal Rajapaksa for further information. He confirmed that the image is digitally altered and that he has never met Seeman or Thalapathy Vijay.

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Conclusion :

Our investigation confirms that the images circulating on social media, purporting to show former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and MP Namal Rajapaksa travelling in a vehicle with “Nam Tamilar Katchi” party leader Seeman and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Thalapathy Vijay, are AI-generated fabrications based on a genuine photograph taken 12 years ago in Sri Lanka. Namal Rajapaksa has confirmed that he has never met Vijay or Seeman on any occasion.