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The cabinet of the NPP government has been appointed recently. A lot of misleading posts being spread on social media about it. This is our search for some such misleading image comparisons.
Social Media Posts
An image comparison circulating on social media claims to show the difference between the 2024 cabinet of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and the 2019 cabinet of then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, with suggestions that the 2024 cabinet has fewer ministers and is therefore more streamlined.
We decided to do a fact check on this.
Fact Check
2024 Cabinet under President Anura Kumara Dissanayake: As of 2024, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s administration has appointed a cabinet with 21 ministers, alongside the president himself, totaling 22 members. This image is accurate and was also published by the president’s media unit.
Misrepresented Comparison: The social media posts incorrectly claim to compare this 2024 cabinet with the 2019 cabinet under Gotabaya Rajapaksa. In reality, Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s 2019 cabinet initially consisted of only 16 ministers. This is actually smaller than Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s 2024 cabinet.More details about it can be reached here
2019 Cabinet
2010 Cabinet under Mahinda Rajapaksa: The image being cited as the “2019 cabinet” is actually from 2010 during the presidency of Mahinda Rajapaksa. His administration had one of the largest cabinets in Sri Lankan history, with 49 ministers and 9 senior ministers, totaling 58 members. This image has been mistakenly used in the comparison, leading to a misleading impression.
Source Verification: The same image from 2010 can be found in archival coverage from Daily News, confirming that it is not representative of either the 2019 or 2024 cabinets.
A comparison between 2010,2019 and 2024 cabinets can be referred below.
Note: The NPP government has appointed its cabinet ministers only, and state ministers/cabinet ministers have yet to be appointed.
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Conclusion:
The social media claim is misleading. The 2024 cabinet of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, consisting of 22 members, is indeed smaller than the 2010 cabinet under Mahinda Rajapaksa, which had 58 members. However, it is larger than the initial 2019 cabinet under Gotabaya Rajapaksa, which had 16 members. This image comparison inaccurately presents a misleading contrast by conflating different time periods and administrations.
Title:Comparing Sri Lanka’s 2024 Cabinet with Previous Administrations: Misleading Social Media Post Confuses Past and Present Images
Fact Check By: Fact Crescendo TeamResult: Misleading
