Sigiriya is a famous tourist attraction in Sri Lanka. However, many misleading claims are being spread about tourism, and the government plans to improve night tourism there.We decided to do a fact-check on this.
Social media posts
Social media posts with images of Sigiriya and illuminating lights at nighttimes implicate that the government started night tourism there and has already created night light systems there for the convenience of tourists.
We decided to do a fact-check on this.
Fact Check
First, we checked mainstream media reports regarding this issue and whether there were any related media reports. We found some media reports about the government`s plan to implement night tourism strategies for archaeological sites in the country.
News First reported that the government has announced plans to open several archaeological sites to tourists at night.
Deputy Minister of Buddhasasana, Religious, and Cultural Affairs Gamagedara Dissanayake revealed that Sigiriya, a UNESCO World Heritage site, will be the first location to offer nighttime access to local and foreign visitors. Further, the minister added that discussions are ongoing, and public opinions are being gathered on the matter. More details can be found here Archived
Daily Mirror reported that the Tourism Ministry has decided to allow visitors to the historic rock fortress Sigiriya on moonlit nights. The Ministry will allow people to visit it for five days a month- full moon day, two days prior to the full moon day and two days after. Visitors are allowed during the day between 6.00 am and 6.00 pm. The programme is called ‘Sigiriya in Moon’. The Daily Mirror report can be read here. Archived
To get more information, we contacted the Central Cultural Fund office at Sigiriya. The representatives there said the office has not been officially informed about the new project yet, and no feasibility text or anything has been done about it yet.So, they said Sigiriya’s opening and closing time is from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Meanwhile, we searched for the beginning of those images and found out that they were created by a digital image creator using AI technology.
That person published it on his FB page.
The Ministry of Cultural Affairs also released a statement elaborating that no decision was taken by the ministry to allocate and permit tourists to visit Sigiriya at night, and the social media posts of illuminated lights at night are false. The statement is below.
We also contacted some residents and hotels there too and they also told no such lighting there at Sigiriya in these days.
Meanwhile, the photos were AI-positive when we checked those using AI detector tools.
AI image identifying tools like hive moderation say images are AI-generated
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Conclusion
Our investigation revealed that viral social media posts illuminating Sigiriya rock via lights include AI-generated photos and are not real. Also, we found out that the Cultural Affairs Ministry has made no decision to allow tourists to visit at night, and the suggestion to do so is currently under review. In a statement, the ministry emphasised that no such decision has been taken so far. Currently or in previous days, there is no such lighting at Sigiriya at night times , authorities as well as residents in the vicinity confirmed.
Title:Misleading Images Are Being Spread About Night Tourism in Sigiriya.
Written By: Kalana KrishanthaResult: Misleading
