{"id":18387,"date":"2026-04-25T09:50:36","date_gmt":"2026-04-25T09:50:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/?p=18387"},"modified":"2026-04-25T09:50:38","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T09:50:38","slug":"edited-clip-targeting-former-prez-gotabaya","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/edited-clip-targeting-former-prez-gotabaya\/","title":{"rendered":"A fabricated video falsely claims that Former President Gotabaya referred to him as the \u201cmost foolish member of the family.\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A video ridiculing former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has once again been making the rounds on social media circles, which we found to be an instance of an altered clip. Let\u2019s look at the claim in detail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Social media posts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The video purportedly depicts a series of scenes in which it is claimed that the former president calls himself the most foolish member of his family. The video is presented below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-vimeo wp-block-embed-vimeo wp-embed-aspect-21-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><iframe title=\"Gotabhya-edited\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/692483358?dnt=1&amp;app_id=122963\" width=\"640\" height=\"273\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/watch\/?v=1198823993987896\">Facebook<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another instance of the same video has been posted, <a href=\"https:\/\/web.facebook.com\/watch\/?extid=CL-UNK-UNK-UNK-IOS_GK0T-GK1C&amp;v=384266279900740\">which is here<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.awesomescreenshot.com\/video\/45431301?key=c686b3fe596c87441d2501a584bc9f0e\">pointed here<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.awesomescreenshot.com\/video\/51882096?key=8dc8ce7e782c2c1edace80658153f177\">located here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some people, assuming that this video was true, responded in this way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"642\" height=\"448\" src=\"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-75.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-18388\" srcset=\"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-75.jpeg 642w, https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-75-300x209.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 642px) 100vw, 642px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Fact Check:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We first examined keyframes of the viral clip to find out the original scenes relating to the incident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Accordingly, our attention was drawn to the original video, which shows former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa delivering a political speech in September 2019, in which he stated,<em> \u201cThey have told the Muslim community that I&#8217;m evil, I&#8217;m the most innocent person in our house.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It refers to a statement made by former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, in which he said, \u201cI am the most innocent person in our family.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The video is provided below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><iframe title=\"\u0db8\u0db8 \u0db1\u0db4\u0dd4\u0dbb\u0dd4\u0dba\u0dd2 \u0d9a\u0dd2\u0dba\u0dbd\u0dcf \u0db8\u0dd4\u0dc3\u0dca\u0dbd\u0dd2\u0db8\u0dca \u0db8\u0dd2\u0db1\u0dd2\u0dc3\u0dca\u0dc3\u0dd4\u0db1\u0dca\u0da7 \u0d9a\u0dd2\u0dba\u0dbd \u0dad\u0dd2\u0dba\u0db1\u0dc0\u0dbd\u0dd4, \u0db8\u0db8 \u0dad\u0db8\u0dba\u0dd2 \u0d85\u0db4\u0dda \u0d9c\u0dd9\u0daf\u0dbb \u0dc4\u0dd2\u0da7\u0dd2\u0dba \u0d85\u0dc4\u0dd2\u0d82\u0dc3\u0d9a\u0db8 \u0db8\u0dd2\u0db1\u0dd2\u0dc4\u0dcf  -\u0d9c\u0ddd\u0da8\u0dcf\u0db7\u0dba\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/b3mwsSbU-6g?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A further example of the same unedited original video has been published <a href=\"https:\/\/web.facebook.com\/watch\/?ref=search&amp;v=513829302728613&amp;external_log_id=23aec583-8eda-4ac2-b00b-dc20fe77bb0c&amp;q=%E0%B6%B4%E0%B7%9B%E0%B7%8A%20%E0%B6%B4%E0%B7%80%E0%B7%94%E0%B6%BD%E0%B7%9A%20%E0%B7%84%E0%B7%92%E0%B6%A7%E0%B7%92%E0%B6%BA%20%23%E0%B6%B8%E0%B7%9D%E0%B6%A9%E0%B6%B8%20%E0%B6%B8%E0%B7%92%E0%B6%B1%E0%B7%92%E0%B7%84%E0%B7%8F%20%E0%B6%B8%E0%B6%B8&amp;_rdc=1&amp;_rdr\">can be seen here<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/web.facebook.com\/watch\/?ref=search&amp;v=380820882834699&amp;external_log_id=504d1b9b-06b5-4648-97dc-b3a2d3edf231&amp;q=%E0%B6%B4%E0%B7%9B%E0%B7%8A%20%E0%B6%B4%E0%B7%80%E0%B7%94%E0%B6%BD%E0%B7%9A%20%E0%B7%84%E0%B7%92%E0%B6%A7%E0%B7%92%E0%B6%BA%20%23%E0%B6%B8%E0%B7%9D%E0%B6%A9%E0%B6%B8%20%E0%B6%B8%E0%B7%92%E0%B6%B1%E0%B7%92%E0%B7%84%E0%B7%8F%20%E0%B6%B8%E0%B6%B8&amp;_rdc=1&amp;_rdr\">is available here<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/web.facebook.com\/watch\/?v=1460522650763466\">here as well.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here is a comparison between the original video and the edited version.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/video.php?height=476&#038;href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Freel%2F1462379454925510%2F&#038;show_text=true&#038;width=380&#038;t=0\" width=\"380\" height=\"591\" style=\"border:none;overflow:hidden\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowFullScreen=\"true\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Join us to explore our fact-finding efforts.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/factcrescendosl\/\"><strong>Facebook<\/strong><\/a><strong> | <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/factcrescendosl\"><strong>Twitter<\/strong><\/a><strong> | <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/factcrescendo_sl\/\"><strong>Instagram<\/strong><\/a><strong> | <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMODMpgswyNe-Aw\"><strong>Google News<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Conclusion:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our investigation indicates that the video circulating on social media, which purports to show former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa describing himself as \u201cthe stupidest person in his family,\u201d is an edited version. The original footage shows him stating, \u201cI am the most innocent person in our family.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<style>\n  \/* Modern Flexbox Container *\/\n  .fc-author-card {\n    display: flex;\n    align-items: center;\n    background-color: #ffffff;\n    border: 1px solid #e0e0e0;\n    border-left: 6px solid #e31b23; \/* Red brand accent line *\/\n    border-radius: 8px;\n    padding: 24px;\n    margin: 24px 0;\n    box-shadow: 0 4px 12px rgba(0,0,0,0.05);\n    font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\n    gap: 24px;\n    color: #333;\n  }\n\n  \/* Stamp Image *\/\n  .fc-author-card img {\n    width: 100px;\n    height: 100px;\n    flex-shrink: 0;\n    border-radius: 50%;\n    object-fit: contain;\n  }\n\n  \/* Text Content Wrapper *\/\n  .fc-card-content {\n    display: flex;\n    flex-direction: column;\n    gap: 8px;\n  }\n\n  \/* Typography *\/\n  .fc-card-content p {\n    margin: 0;\n    font-size: 16px;\n    line-height: 1.4;\n  }\n\n  .fc-label {\n    font-weight: 700;\n    color: #555;\n    text-transform: uppercase;\n    font-size: 13px;\n    letter-spacing: 0.5px;\n    margin-right: 5px;\n  }\n\n  .fc-title-text {\n    font-size: 18px;\n    font-weight: bold;\n    color: #111;\n  }\n\n  .fc-author-card a {\n    color: #0056b3;\n    text-decoration: none;\n    font-weight: 600;\n  }\n\n  .fc-author-card a:hover {\n    text-decoration: underline;\n  }\n\n  .fc-result-text {\n    font-size: 18px;\n    font-weight: 900;\n    color: #e31b23;\n    text-transform: uppercase;\n  }\n\n  \/* Mobile Responsiveness *\/\n  @media (max-width: 500px) {\n    .fc-author-card {\n      flex-direction: column;\n      text-align: center;\n      padding: 20px;\n    }\n  }\n<\/style>\n\n<div class=\"fc-author-card\">\n  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.factcrescendo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/False.png\" alt=\"Result Stamp\">\n  \n  <div class=\"fc-card-content\">\n    <p><span class=\"fc-label\">Title:<\/span> <span class=\"fc-title-text\">A fabricated video falsely claims that Former President Gotabaya referred to him as the \u201cmost foolish member of the family.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n    <p><span class=\"fc-label\">Fact Check By:<\/span> <a href=\"mailto:info@factcrescendo.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Pavithra Sandamali<\/a><\/p>\n    <p><span class=\"fc-label\">Result:<\/span> <span class=\"fc-result-text\">False<\/span><\/p>\n  <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/api.whatsapp.com\/send?phone=94771514696&#038;text=Please%20type%20your%20Name%20and%20Language:%20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2481\" src=\"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Whats-app-sri-lanka.png\" alt=\"\"><\/a><\/figure>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A video ridiculing former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has once again been making the rounds on social media circles, which we found to be an instance of an altered clip. Let\u2019s look at the claim in detail. Social media posts: The video purportedly depicts a series of scenes in which it is claimed that the former [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":18389,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,27],"tags":[1766,21,22],"class_list":["post-18387","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-false","category-political","tag-edited","tag-gotabaya-rajapaksa","tag-sri-lanka"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>A fabricated video falsely claims that Former President Gotabaya referred to him as the \u201cmost foolish member of the family.\u201d - Fact Crescendo Sri Lanka English | The leading fact-checking website<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/edited-clip-targeting-former-prez-gotabaya\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A fabricated video falsely claims that Former President Gotabaya referred to him as the \u201cmost foolish member of the family.\u201d - Fact Crescendo Sri Lanka English | The leading fact-checking website\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A video ridiculing former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has once again been making the rounds on social media circles, which we found to be an instance of an altered clip. Let\u2019s look at the claim in detail. Social media posts: The video purportedly depicts a series of scenes in which it is claimed that the former [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/edited-clip-targeting-former-prez-gotabaya\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Fact Crescendo Sri Lanka English | The leading fact-checking website\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-25T09:50:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-25T09:50:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/gota.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"622\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"420\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Pavithra Sandamali\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Pavithra Sandamali\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\\\/english\\\/edited-clip-targeting-former-prez-gotabaya\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\\\/english\\\/edited-clip-targeting-former-prez-gotabaya\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Pavithra Sandamali\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\\\/english\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6a01f2789633a4396c1d94875794ec06\"},\"headline\":\"A fabricated video falsely claims that Former President Gotabaya referred to him as the \u201cmost foolish member of the family.\u201d\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-25T09:50:36+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-25T09:50:38+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\\\/english\\\/edited-clip-targeting-former-prez-gotabaya\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":354,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\\\/english\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\\\/english\\\/edited-clip-targeting-former-prez-gotabaya\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/gota.png\",\"keywords\":[\"edited\",\"Gotabaya Rajapaksa\",\"Sri Lanka\"],\"articleSection\":[\"False\",\"Political\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\\\/english\\\/edited-clip-targeting-former-prez-gotabaya\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\\\/english\\\/edited-clip-targeting-former-prez-gotabaya\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\\\/english\\\/edited-clip-targeting-former-prez-gotabaya\\\/\",\"name\":\"A fabricated video falsely claims that Former President Gotabaya referred to him as the \u201cmost foolish member of the family.\u201d - Fact Crescendo Sri Lanka English | The leading fact-checking website\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\\\/english\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\\\/english\\\/edited-clip-targeting-former-prez-gotabaya\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\\\/english\\\/edited-clip-targeting-former-prez-gotabaya\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/gota.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-25T09:50:36+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-25T09:50:38+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\\\/english\\\/edited-clip-targeting-former-prez-gotabaya\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\\\/english\\\/edited-clip-targeting-former-prez-gotabaya\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\\\/english\\\/edited-clip-targeting-former-prez-gotabaya\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/gota.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/gota.png\",\"width\":622,\"height\":420},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\\\/english\\\/edited-clip-targeting-former-prez-gotabaya\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\\\/english\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"A fabricated video falsely claims that Former President Gotabaya referred to him as the \u201cmost foolish member of the family.\u201d\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\\\/english\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\\\/english\\\/\",\"name\":\"Fact Crescendo Sri Lanka English | The leading fact-checking website\",\"description\":\"The Fact Behind Every News!\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\\\/english\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\\\/english\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\\\/english\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Fact Crescendo Sri Lanka English | The leading fact-checking website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\\\/english\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\\\/english\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/Logo-For-Wbsite-e1731583730815.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/Logo-For-Wbsite-e1731583730815.png\",\"width\":320,\"height\":89,\"caption\":\"Fact Crescendo Sri Lanka English | The leading fact-checking website\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\\\/english\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\\\/english\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6a01f2789633a4396c1d94875794ec06\",\"name\":\"Pavithra Sandamali\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/eb86baa067fb767ab53bed4a9feec28d3cb36a7f03eebdc75c03285b14d42059?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/eb86baa067fb767ab53bed4a9feec28d3cb36a7f03eebdc75c03285b14d42059?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/eb86baa067fb767ab53bed4a9feec28d3cb36a7f03eebdc75c03285b14d42059?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Pavithra Sandamali\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\\\/english\\\/author\\\/pavithra-sandamali\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"A fabricated video falsely claims that Former President Gotabaya referred to him as the \u201cmost foolish member of the family.\u201d - Fact Crescendo Sri Lanka English | The leading fact-checking website","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/edited-clip-targeting-former-prez-gotabaya\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"A fabricated video falsely claims that Former President Gotabaya referred to him as the \u201cmost foolish member of the family.\u201d - Fact Crescendo Sri Lanka English | The leading fact-checking website","og_description":"A video ridiculing former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has once again been making the rounds on social media circles, which we found to be an instance of an altered clip. Let\u2019s look at the claim in detail. Social media posts: The video purportedly depicts a series of scenes in which it is claimed that the former [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/edited-clip-targeting-former-prez-gotabaya\/","og_site_name":"Fact Crescendo Sri Lanka English | The leading fact-checking website","article_published_time":"2026-04-25T09:50:36+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-04-25T09:50:38+00:00","og_image":[{"width":622,"height":420,"url":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/gota.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Pavithra Sandamali","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Pavithra Sandamali","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/edited-clip-targeting-former-prez-gotabaya\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/edited-clip-targeting-former-prez-gotabaya\/"},"author":{"name":"Pavithra Sandamali","@id":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/#\/schema\/person\/6a01f2789633a4396c1d94875794ec06"},"headline":"A fabricated video falsely claims that Former President Gotabaya referred to him as the \u201cmost foolish member of the family.\u201d","datePublished":"2026-04-25T09:50:36+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-25T09:50:38+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/edited-clip-targeting-former-prez-gotabaya\/"},"wordCount":354,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/edited-clip-targeting-former-prez-gotabaya\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/gota.png","keywords":["edited","Gotabaya Rajapaksa","Sri Lanka"],"articleSection":["False","Political"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/edited-clip-targeting-former-prez-gotabaya\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/edited-clip-targeting-former-prez-gotabaya\/","url":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/edited-clip-targeting-former-prez-gotabaya\/","name":"A fabricated video falsely claims that Former President Gotabaya referred to him as the \u201cmost foolish member of the family.\u201d - Fact Crescendo Sri Lanka English | The leading fact-checking website","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/edited-clip-targeting-former-prez-gotabaya\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/edited-clip-targeting-former-prez-gotabaya\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/gota.png","datePublished":"2026-04-25T09:50:36+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-25T09:50:38+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/edited-clip-targeting-former-prez-gotabaya\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/edited-clip-targeting-former-prez-gotabaya\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/edited-clip-targeting-former-prez-gotabaya\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/gota.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/gota.png","width":622,"height":420},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/edited-clip-targeting-former-prez-gotabaya\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"A fabricated video falsely claims that Former President Gotabaya referred to him as the \u201cmost foolish member of the family.\u201d"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/#website","url":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/","name":"Fact Crescendo Sri Lanka English | The leading fact-checking website","description":"The Fact Behind Every News!","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/#organization","name":"Fact Crescendo Sri Lanka English | The leading fact-checking website","url":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Logo-For-Wbsite-e1731583730815.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Logo-For-Wbsite-e1731583730815.png","width":320,"height":89,"caption":"Fact Crescendo Sri Lanka English | The leading fact-checking website"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/#\/schema\/person\/6a01f2789633a4396c1d94875794ec06","name":"Pavithra Sandamali","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/eb86baa067fb767ab53bed4a9feec28d3cb36a7f03eebdc75c03285b14d42059?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/eb86baa067fb767ab53bed4a9feec28d3cb36a7f03eebdc75c03285b14d42059?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/eb86baa067fb767ab53bed4a9feec28d3cb36a7f03eebdc75c03285b14d42059?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Pavithra Sandamali"},"url":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/author\/pavithra-sandamali\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/gota.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18387","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18387"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18387\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18390,"href":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18387\/revisions\/18390"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18389"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18387"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18387"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18387"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}