{"id":19852,"date":"2026-07-24T12:50:31","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T12:50:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/?p=19852"},"modified":"2026-07-24T12:50:33","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T12:50:33","slug":"no-the-woman-seen-with-prime-minister-harini-amarasuriya-is-not-her-personal-chef","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/no-the-woman-seen-with-prime-minister-harini-amarasuriya-is-not-her-personal-chef\/","title":{"rendered":"Not Her Chef: Setting the Record Straight on PM Harini\u2019s Qatar Trip Companion"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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When Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya recently left for Qatar<\/a> to convey the Sri Lankan government\u2019s condolences on the death of Qatar\u2019s former ruler, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, a young woman seen beside her at Katunayake Airport set social media alight. In a politically charged moment, posts carrying false and hostile claims about the woman spread fast. We investigated who she really is. Here is what we found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Social Media Posts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Numerous posts, framed from various angles, claimed that the woman who travelled with the Prime Minister was her personal chef. Some added that Minister Nalinda Jayatissa had confirmed she travelled as a chef, and that Newswire\u2019s Facebook page had reported it as news.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Facebook<\/strong><\/a> | <\/strong>Archived Link<\/strong><\/a>  FB<\/strong><\/a>  FB<\/strong><\/a>  FB<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Others depicted MP and Attorney-at-Law Lakmali Hemachandra as having said the Prime Minister had travelled abroad with her son, and that critics were merely disgruntled troublemakers, alongside mocking and derogatory posts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Another post claimed that when users asked AI tools who the woman was, the tools named her as prominent Sri Lankan athlete Tharushi Karunaratne, with commentary shared as shown below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

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

Minister Nalinda Jayatissa Made No Such Statement<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our investigation found no mainstream media report of Health Minister Nalinda Jayatissa saying the Prime Minister travelled abroad with her personal chef, nor any instance of the Minister making such a statement. When we contacted the Minister\u2019s media secretary directly, he confirmed the Minister had made no such statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No such story appeared on the \u2018Newswire\u2019 Facebook page either. \u2018Newswire\u2019 itself posted a clarification on its official social media accounts, confirming that the story circulating on social media was not published by them and had been fabricated using their name without authorization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n