Viral Video Featuring Sajith Premadasa Debunked: Original Belongs to Gehan Blok and Dino Korera

Subscribe to our WhatsApp Channel

A trend has emerged as the upcoming presidential election approaches: altered videos are circulated to discredit opposition leader Sajith Premadasa. While some of these videos are created in a satirical manner, this manipulated content misrepresents Sajith's actions and statements, creating a misleading narrative to undermine his credibility and tarnish his public image.

Social Media Posts

A video circulating among Facebook users, titled "Puthano on fire", implies that the opposition leader, Sajith Premadasa, is clad in aristocratic clothing and holding on to another person's neck. This resembles the fictional character of Count Dracula, the titular vampire and antagonist, who seeks to consume the blood of the living.

FB | Archived

Even though many had understood the video to be manipulated by face-swapping Sajith to a different act, many were curious about the original setting and the background narration in the video, where Sajith purportedly states that he is going to be responsible for every ounce of blood flowing through every citizen and future generations!

Details:

Upon investigation, it was discovered that the original video was produced by well-known Sri Lankan comedians Gehan Blok and Dino Korera. The video, which was uploaded to YouTube four months ago, was intended as a humorous skit. The original footage does not feature Sajith Premadasa in any capacity.

Manipulation:

The creators of the viral video superimposed Sajith Premadasa's face onto one of the characters who resembled Count Dracula. Then, a portion of an audio clip from one of Sajith's statements was also added in a misleading manner to make it seem as though Sajith states that he will take responsibility for every ounce of blood of all the citizens.

A comparison of the altered and the original video is below.

However, upon analyzing the original footage, it's clear that Sajith states that he and his team will take responsibility for safeguarding the nation and promise to use every ounce of his blood and work day and night for the betterment of the country. These remarks were made during the Janapawura Mahiyanganaya program conducted by Samagi Jana Balawegaya.

These kinds of video manipulation are commonly used to spread misinformation and create false impressions about public figures.

Follow us and stay up to date with our latest fact checks.

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Google News | TikTok

Conclusion:

The video circulating on social media is not genuine and has been deliberately altered to misrepresent Sajith Premadasa. The original content was a comedic skit by Gehan Blok and Dino Korera, and any association with Premadasa was added later through video editing. We urge the public to be cautious of such manipulated content and to verify the authenticity of such videos before sharing them.