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President Anura Kumara Dissanayake attended the New Year celebrations held at the new house built by the government for a family whose house was destroyed by Cyclone Ditwa on the morning of April 14. Posts were also shared on social media indicating that the celebration in question was previously recorded. Below is a fact-check we conducted in this regard.
Social Media Posts:
A post was shared on social media asking, “Was the President’s New Year’s Eve celebration pre-recorded?”
Related posts were widely circulated on social media as follows.
The social media post states that a photo taken during the celebration shows the time on a mobile phone of someone at the location as 11:10. It further claims that there is no auspicious time at 11:10, as the auspicious time for lighting the fire was at 10:51 in the morning. Accordingly, the post suggests this is not a live scene but a sequence of scenes that were planned and filmed in advance. We have taken steps to investigate this matter based on the requests we received.
Fact Check:
The inaugural program for the provision of compensation for houses completely damaged by the flood disaster and the construction of new houses under Rebuilding Sri Lanka was held on January 9th at Alubaddha village, Malbeligala division, Galnewa Divisional Secretariat, Anuradhapura, under the patronage of the President.
A post was shared on April 14th on the official Facebook page of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, stating that he participated in a New Year celebration held in a new house built under a specific agreement.
The Presidential Media Division also published the relevant note with photographs as follows.
The mainstream media had also reported how the President had participated in the relevant New Year celebrations on April 14th.
More media reports on the matter here, here and here.
In a photo posted on the President’s official Facebook account and by the Presidential Media Division, a person holding a mobile phone with the time 11.10 was recorded as follows.
Among the New Year’s auspicious rituals, the ritual related to cooking and lighting the stove was performed at 10:51 am on April 14. The auspicious sheet published by the Government Information Department regarding that ritual is here. However, the relevant photo, taken at the time of the milk spill, shows the time on the phone as 19 minutes after the auspicious time for lighting the stove.
Many people had questioned on social media, saying that this time was not the auspicious time. This had been recorded earlier. However, the live video of the New Year celebration held by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake at Alubaddha village was not broadcast live on any state channel.
Accordingly, during the auspicious rituals broadcast on Independent Television, the Prime Minister, along with the ministers, attended the lighting of the fire at the Prime Minister’s official residence. It was observed that the ritual was being performed live and that the milk was being poured out live, and we took steps to examine how the times when the milk was poured out were stated. Attending the event were a group of employees of the channel from Gampaha and a group of employees from the HD studio of Independent Television and the filming crew of ‘Kopi Kade’ (a mega teledrama broadcast on the Independent Television channel).
Scenes from the burning of letters
Visions of the time of milk spilling
The time on the coffee shop premises is 11:05:27.
The time at the Gampaha home is 11:04:06.
ITN HD studio at 11:06:43
Accordingly, it can be assumed that the time elapsed between the moment the fire was lit and the moment the milk was spilled in the photograph above, when President Anura was present, was around 11.10.
In the relevant photographs, it can be observed that the President, other public representatives, and residents are dressed in red, the auspicious color of this New Year, and some people are dressed in sarongs.
Media reports on the occasion included the President’s New Year greetings to the people as follows.
The relevant media reports also included the President’s eating and trading rituals with the relevant residents, as follows.
Local journalists
We contacted local journalists to verify the information. They stated that the President had participated in the New Year celebrations at a newly constructed house in the Galnewa area yesterday, April 14. They also stated that the rumors suggesting these videos were recorded earlier are false.
Administrative Officer of the Grama Niladharis of the Galnewa Division
We also inquired with the Administrative Officer of the Grama Niladhari of the Galnewa Division, Mr. Nimal Bandara, in this regard to confirm this. He stated that yesterday, on April 14, the President attended the New Year celebrations at a newly constructed house in the Galnewa Division built by the government. He added that he also participated in the event and that the President performed the New Year rituals at that house.
Presidential Media Division
When we inquired about this, the Presidential Media Division confirmed that the President was involved in a New Year celebration held on April 14 at a new house built by the government for a family whose house was destroyed by Cyclone Ditva, and that there was official news reporting on it in the mainstream media, and that the posts shared on social media claiming that the relevant footage was recorded are false and misleading.
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Conclusion:
Our investigation shows that the posts circulating on social media claiming that the footage of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake participating in a New Year celebration is a pre-recorded video are false. Although the official photos posted regarding the incident show the time as 11:10 on a mobile phone held by one of the people at the time the milk spilled, it can be assumed that about 19 minutes had passed from the time the fire was lit to the time the milk spilled. The Administrative Officer of the Grama Niladhari of the Galnewa Division, local journalists, and the Presidential Media Division have confirmed that the President attended the New Year celebrations at the relevant residence on April 14.
Title: The rumors circulating that the President’s New Year celebrations were pre-recorded are false!
Fact Check By: Pavithra Hansani
Result: False
