Viral Document Claiming UNHCR Survey on Sri Lankan Presidential Polls is FABRICATED!

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In light of Sri Lanka's constitutional requirement for a presidential election before November this year, there has been a surge in the circulation of various documents and infographics on social media purporting to depict voter preferences in the upcoming election. However, many of these materials have been identified as either fabricated or false, and many lack the rationale of sampling methods. Despite the proliferation of such misleading content, it remains crucial for voters to discern credible sources of information amidst the noise and misinformation.

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A document circulating on social media purports to depict the results of a survey conducted by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR Sri Lanka) regarding preferences in the Sri Lankan presidential polls.

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The full document, which is in English, can be read here.

The letter attached to the report claims that the said 20-day survey of 330 university students and opinions of citizens representing every district and all ethnic groups and professions were sought. As per the report, Sajith Premadasa would emerge victorious with 36.31%, followed by SLPP candidate 34.53% (who, incidentally, is not named yet), current president Ranil Wickremesinghe with 16.35%, and NPP leader Anura Kumara getting 10.59% of votes.

We decided to do a fact-check on this.

Fact Check:

Source Verification: A thorough search across mainstream media outlets, official websites of the UN and UNHCR, and their respective social media channels reveals no evidence of such a survey being conducted or endorsed by UNHCR.

Statement from UN- Sri Lanka: Official social media channels of the UN- Sri Lanka have explicitly labeled the viral document as fake and have denied any association of the UN with such material. The UN's statement regarding the document's authenticity discredits its purported connection to the associated UN agency, UNHCR.

Furthermore, we noticed that UNHCR Sri Lanka had not conducted any special projects in the recent past, and there is no evidence of any UN organization furnishing such voter preference reports in previous elections. We also inquired about these details from the UN Sri Lanka office and plan to update this article with their response.

Survey Focus: Upon examination of the content of the alleged survey, it becomes apparent that it primarily focuses on party preferences and the distribution of votes. However, Sri Lankan presidential elections typically revolve around individual leaders who emerge as candidates, with several parties usually aligning themselves around these leaders. Hence, the said survey's focus on parties rather than prominent figures contradicts the usual dynamics of Sri Lankan presidential elections.

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Conclusion:

The viral document claiming to represent the voter preference results of a UNHCR survey on Sri Lankan presidential polls is false and misleading. There is no evidence to support its authenticity, and official statements from the UN Sri Lanka office confirm that it is not associated with any UN organization. Additionally, the survey's focus on party preferences does not align with the usual dynamics of Sri Lankan presidential elections, further casting doubt on its legitimacy.

Therefore, it is imperative to exercise caution and critical thinking when encountering such claims on social media platforms.