{"id":13210,"date":"2024-10-16T19:03:43","date_gmt":"2024-10-16T19:03:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/?p=13210"},"modified":"2024-10-29T19:07:38","modified_gmt":"2024-10-29T19:07:38","slug":"election-are-the-worlds-stupidest-voters-in-sri-lanka-619459","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/election\/are-the-worlds-stupidest-voters-in-sri-lanka-619459\/","title":{"rendered":"Are the world\u2019s stupidest voters in Sri Lanka?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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\u201cPolitical literacy\u201d of Sri Lankan people is a major topic which emerges in most discussions especially in the election season. Thus, we examined the facts of a news article which was published in an international newspaper regarding this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Social media claims<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shown below is a post claiming that the Boston Globe newspaper indicated \u201cSri Lanka has become the country with the stupidest voters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Facebook<\/a>  Archived Link<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

From time to time this post has been shared through WhatsApp in a satirical manner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Fact Check<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We did a simple google search to find out whether there is actually a ranking system to grade the world\u2019s stupidest voters, as the above mentioned circulated posts are obviously edited. However, it became clear that there is no such ranking in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We used the Google News search to see if the Mainstream Media (MSM) has reported such a news but we could not find any report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then the exchange photo was monitored through Google Reverse Image search, where the actual information of the photo was found. Accordingly, it became clear that the photograph is the front page of the Boston Globe newspaper dated 16th August 2018<\/a>, and that there is no news that says, \u201cSri Lanka has become the country with the stupidest voters\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Upon further investigation, it became clear that the actual page contains news about the  threats made to the Boston newspaper<\/a> after its editorial against the former US president Donald Trump. Archived.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Below is a photo comparison of the edited Boston Globe front page circulating on social media and the actual Boston newspaper front page on the day of the post. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Here is a post posted by a Facebook user in February about the false post that was being shared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Facebook<\/strong><\/a> | <\/strong>Twitter<\/strong><\/a> | <\/strong>Instagram<\/strong><\/a> | <\/strong>Google News<\/strong><\/a> | <\/strong>TikTok<\/strong><\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through our investigation it is clear that the post indicating \u201cSri Lanka has become the country with the stupidest voter\u201d is false. The false post has been created by using the front page of the Boston Globe newspaper dated 16th August 2018. It is also clear that there isn’t any ranking system as the \u201ccountry where the world’s stupidest voters live\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t