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In 2022 amid “Aragalaya”, a video clip was shared through social media showcasing Mr. Sajith Premadasa bowing down and worshiping Rathindu Senarathne, who is also known as Ratta.
It was shared even through WhatsApp, and many users fabricated several claims regarding this video.
This video resurfaced recently when there were no more than three weeks before the 2024 Presidential Election.
Fact Check
When we examined this video last time, in 2022 we could capture a webcam in the video, which means the video was captured by a device while it was playing on a computer with a webcam. We could also see another phone in the background at the end of the video.
The root cause behind this video was that a meeting was held on the 18th of July 2022 between Mr. Sajith Premadasa and the representatives of the ‘Aragalaya’ at the office of the opposition leader in Colombo. During that meeting the opposition leader made a special statement that neither he or his party nor his alliance has ever betrayed the demands of the people of the ‘Aragalaya’, and that it will not happen in the future as well.
It appears that Rathindu Senarathne or Ratta who is featured in the shared video has also participated in this meeting.
However, we had to contact then media secretary of the opposition leader Mr. Sajith Premadasa to get the details of the scenes posted on social media.
Media Secretary of the opposition leader, Mr. Sajith Premadasa.
Mr. Ranjith Kumara, then media secretary of the Sajith Premadasa stated that several monks also participated in the meeting to meet the activists of the ‘Aragalaya’, and a series of video footage taken after the meeting have been edited inappropriately to spread a blatant lie against the opposition leader.
We were also given the original video clip at the occasion, which showcased that there is a Buddhist monk beside Ratta and that Sajith Premadasa is bowing down and worshiping the Buddhist monk.
When examining the video given by the Media Secretary of the opposition leader, we found that the video clip was cut in half leaving out the background part where the Buddhist monk was captured, while being played on a certain screen, and recorded only a part to make the misleading video.
Below is a comparison of footage taken from the angle of the original video and the misleading recreated video.
Here, it is clear that Sajith Premadasa is bowing to the Buddhist monk, not Ratta.
Below is a photo taken at the meeting, including Ratta and the Buddhist monk. It can also be seen that the way Ratta is dressed (T-shirt and cap hat) is very similar to the video shared on social media.
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Conclusion
It is clear from our investigation that the circulating video through social media is misleading and that Sajith Premadasa is worshipping the Buddhist Thero, not Ratta. It is obvious that it was recorded cutting out half of the video, where the Buddhist Thero was captured.
Title:Did Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa bow down and worship Ratta?
Fact Check By: Fact Crescendo TeamResult: Misleading
