Old Video Misleadingly Claimed as an Election Violence Incident!
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The presidential election of Sri Lanka has been relatively peaceful so far, as stated by Sri Lanka police and election monitoring groups. However, some misleading claims, accompanied by misleading videos, are being spread, saying that election-related violence has started.
Social Media Posts
A video circulating on social media shows what appears to be a building fire, with claims that the incident is related to violence during the Sri Lankan presidential election, which took place yesterday. As election results are being released, many online users have shared the video, alleging that the fire is the result of election-related violence.
Fact Check
To verify the video's authenticity and the claims, we conducted a reverse image search and found that it is not recent. The footage depicts a fire several months ago in the Wellawatta area of Sri Lanka when a building belonging to Nolimit (a fashion retail chain in Sri Lanka) caught fire. Here is an instance of the same viral video on TikTok, posted in March 2024, titled " A fire reported at a building in Wellawatte."
This event was widely reported by several local media outlets at the time, and there were no connections to election-related violence or any political events.
To get further insights on current post-election violence in the country, we contacted the Police Media Division, who confirmed that there hasn't been any report of such an incident of a house or building set on fire.
Also, when we asked the Center for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV), they confirmed that this is false information and that no arson incident had been reported.
The police media unit confirmed no such thing is happening currently.
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Conclusion
The claims circulating on social media that the video depicts violence related to the presidential election are false. The video in question is an old clip from a building on fire from March 2024. We advise the public to refrain from sharing unverified information, especially during sensitive times like elections, and to rely on credible sources for accurate news.
As the election results continue to be released, it is important for the public to stay cautious about misleading claims that can incite unnecessary fear and tension.
