{"id":8418,"date":"2023-09-23T13:00:30","date_gmt":"2023-09-23T13:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/?p=8418"},"modified":"2023-09-25T06:59:36","modified_gmt":"2023-09-25T06:59:36","slug":"misleading-unrelated-images-shared-as-sri-lankan-president-wickremesinghe-addressing-unga-to-an-empty-hall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/misleading-unrelated-images-shared-as-sri-lankan-president-wickremesinghe-addressing-unga-to-an-empty-hall\/","title":{"rendered":"This Image Depicts the German Chancellor Addressing the UN General Assembly, NOT Ranil Wickremesinghe!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe is attending the 78th<\/sup> United Nations General Assembly in New York. A few days ago, he addressed the General Assembly and highlighted some critical topics related to Sri Lanka and internationally, such as global climate change.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soon after the president’s speech, a photo post of purportedly President Wickremasinghe addressing the UN General Assembly has gone viral among social media users in Sri Lanka. Let’s look at the claim in detail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Social Media Posts<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

A viral post based on a photo says Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe was seen addressing a near-empty UN General Assembly Hall, implying that many diplomats and world leaders left when he began his speech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One social media user posted the image with the caption, “No more boasting about international recognition for Ranil. Look at the empty seats in UN when he was talking.”\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Our investigation found that the viral photo was taken while German Chancellor Olaf Scholz addressed the current UN General Assembly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fact Check<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

A Reverse image search led to a few articles by German media outlets and other international media, who reported that the assembly hall was nearly empty when Scholz addressed the assembly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Bild<\/a> | Archived Link<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The viral photo was captured by the photographer\u00a0Michael Kappeler<\/em>\u00a0and was also published on Germany’s\u00a0DW website.\u00a0<\/a>Another news report\u00a0can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, the same photo was posted in a message published on X<\/a> by NEXTA TV, which mentioned that the small number of listeners for the speech had to do with the timing of the German Chancellors’ speech, which was scheduled for late in the day and the Japanese PM who spoke afterward, had to talk in front of an even more emptier hall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A photo from the President’s Media Unit of Sri Lanka shows some empty seats in the hall when President Wickremesinghe addressed the assembly. Still, a considerable number of people were also listening to his speech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Expressing concern about big power tensions and their impact on international cooperation, including trade and ocean governance, he stressed the preservation of a rules-based multilateral trading system through the @wto<\/a>. (7\/8) pic.twitter.com\/vYGmKKo0mn<\/a><\/p>— President's Media Division of Sri Lanka – PMD (@PMDNewsGov) September 22, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote>