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Various photo and video edits are frequently shared on social media to attack political opponents, and nowadays, Artificial Intelligence is used more often. Below is our investigation into some of the photos published in that way.
Social Media Post :
A photo of Parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa was circulated on social media with the caption, “He was so humble that he stopped and talked to Uncle Siripala, whom he met by chance.”
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These photos were also circulated with the caption, “He should at least deceive the old people – Namol Production”. It attempted to imply that the photos shown in the post were pre-planned and had been recently taken with a production crew.
A photo os Anura Kumara Dissanayake was also circulated, with the caption, “It seems like he can’t go without his media team.”
Here’s how we checked the credibility of these photos.
Fact Check :
Photo os MP Namal Rajapaksa
We checked the photo of MP Namal Rajapaksa, and a recent comment on it indicated that it was taken by a person named Dylan Mark.
We contacted Dylan Mark, who had captured this photo, and he stated that the original image was taken by him several years ago.
Dylan explained that this photo was taken while he was accompanying Namal Rajapaksa on the way to a meeting in the Hambanthota area. The older man in the picture is apparently a longtime supporter of D.A. Rajapaksa, the grandfather of Namal Rajapaksa. Seeing him, Namal got out of the vehicle and engaged in a friendly conversation.
Dylan stated that he took this photo from the vehicle that he had driven behind Namal Rajapakse. He clarified that the image is being published in a different light these days, as an incident in which a camera crew was ready at the scene to capture it.
Namal Rajapaksa posted the original photo on his social media accounts in July 2020, and the photos posted on Instagram and X at that time are below.
Also, because the circulated photo is in an unnatural position and such images can be generated by artificial intelligence, we directed it to an artificial intelligence-generated photo recognition tool.
The results show that this photo was generated through artificial intelligence.
Photo of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake
A video of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake jogging in Idalgashinna was also circulated through social media, with the caption, “President jogging in Idalgashinna – meeting with people along the way”. However, we identified that the clothes the President wore differ from those shown in the photos posted on social media.
Also, due to the unnatural position of the camera crew in the background of the photo, which showed the President with a young man, we directed it to a Reverse Image search.
There, we identified that the original photo of this instance was taken a year ago, in October 2024, just after he was elected President. It was posted on social media platforms at that time as follows.
When examining the backgrounds of these two photos, it was observed that they contrast with each other.
A comparison of photos is as follows.
Edited photo
Original photo
We also inquired about this from the Presidential Media Division, and they stated that the above photo of the President is edited, and that the President does not bring camera crews to such non-official occasions.
Also, when examining the photo’s background, there is a high probability that it was created with artificial intelligence.
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Conclusion :
Our investigation reveals that the photos shared of MP Namal Rajapaksa and President Anura Kumara Dissanayake were created using Artificial Intelligence, and that the original images were taken five years and one year ago, respectively.
Title:Old Images Fabricated Using AI, Targeting Namal Rajapaksa & President Anura
Fact Check By: Fact Crescendo TeamResult: Altered
