Obama Drinking A Coconut From a Streetside Shop in SL is an Old & Altered Image!

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Sri Lanka's tourism industry has experienced a significant surge over the last few months, attracting numerous renowned figures for vacation retreats. Despite this positive trend, there have been misleading social media assertions falsely suggesting that former US President Barack Obama is presently vacationing in Sri Lanka. Below is our investigation of it.

Social Media Posts

Images circulating on social media suggest that former U.S. President Barack Obama is currently in Sri Lanka, drinking fresh coconut near a small shop in a Sri Lankan street.

Facebook | Archived

Users commented on it like below.

We decided to do a fact-check on this.

Fact Check:

Obama's Presence in Sri Lanka:

Multiple reliable sources confirm that Barack Obama has not visited Sri Lanka. No media reports or credible sources indicate his current presence in the country.

Verification of Image Authenticity:

A reverse image search confirmed that an Indonesian photo manipulator, Agan Harahap, edited the images. Below is the edited image published by Harahap, from August 2021, which drew much attention on Instagram.

Instagram

Harahap is known for manipulating photos of famous figures, placing them near local shops in Indonesia, and then donating the edited images to the owners of shops. More details about it can be read here.

Check this photo collection to see other similar edits Harahap had done and presented to local shops, including Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Original Images of Obama with Coconut:

The original images of Barack Obama tasting fresh coconut were taken during his historic visit to Laos in 2016. At that time, Obama was the U.S. President.

The photos captured him at a street market in Luang Prabang, Laos, where he greeted residents and sampled local refreshments, including fresh coconut. Details about it can be read here & here. | Archived

Getty Images

As seen below, a cropped version of the original image was used to create the edited version.

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Conclusion

The claim that Barack Obama was recently seen in Sri Lanka, specifically drinking fresh coconut near a small Sri Lankan shop, is false. The images in circulation are the result of photo manipulation by Agan Harahap, an Indonesian creator and the original photos were taken during Obama's visit to Laos in 2016.