Old Video Viral Again as Recent Statement of Former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa
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Ending corruption and bringing those who robbed the country bankrupt to justice were key themes of recently elected president Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s election campaign.
Social Media Posts
Against this backdrop, a video going viral on social media implies that former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa recently stated that he had only received his salary and interest from fixed deposits and did not purchase any additional land, vehicles, or properties during his time in office, as the president of Sri Lanka.
We decided to do a fact-check on this.
Fact Check
Background of the Claim:
Social media posts are widely sharing the above video clip of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, asserting that he recently made this statement. The posts claim that the statement was made amidst ongoing discussions about investigating politicians' assets, with the National People's Power (NPP) government taking office after the recent presidential election. One of NPP’s key promises was to investigate and take legal action against politicians who amassed wealth through illegal means.
Original Interview Dates Back to 2015
To verify the claim, we conducted a reverse image search of the video to trace its origin. The search revealed that this conversation is not recent. Gotabaya Rajapaksa made this statement in 2015, after the Rajapaksa family’s defeat in the 2015 presidential election, when Maithripala Sirisena won the presidency.
The original interview in which Gotabaya Rajapaksa claimed that his income came solely from his salary and fixed deposit interest was part of his effort to defend himself against allegations of corruption and improper wealth accumulation following the defeat of Mahinda Rajapaksa’s government.
Context of the Current Claim:
The viral social media posts falsely suggest that this statement is a recent admission by Gotabaya Rajapaksa, attempting to link it to the current political context, where the newly elected NPP government is set to investigate politicians' assets.
However, Gotabaya Rajapaksa did not give a new interview or make a statement on this matter after the recent presidential election. The video circulating is from 2015 and is being shared out of context to mislead the public into thinking it is a fresh statement.
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Conclusion:
The viral video claiming that former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who was ousted from power in 2022, recently stated he only received his salary and interest from fixed deposits during his tenure is misleading. The statement was made in 2015 and is being misrepresented in the current political context. Social media users should be cautious of such out-of-context content, especially in the politically charged post-election environment.
