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Sri Lanka’s Elections Commission chairman has denied imposing a social media ban during presidential elections

Published on Saturday 16 November 2019 at 10:00
Multiple Facebook posts claim that Sri Lanka’s Elections Commission has announced a three-day social media ban around the country’s November 16, 2019 election. After the posts many people, including local politicians, expressed concern online over the purported ban. But the Facebook posts are misleading; the Election Commission chairman has said reports of a social media ban were a "lie"; all major social media platforms, including Facebook and Twitter, were freely available in Sri Lanka on election day, AFP found; many Sri Lankans, including top presidential candidates, were posting on social media on polling day.
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This photo shows a man in an emergency response drill -- he was not shot by a Sri Lankan opposition parliamentarian’s bodyguards

Published on Friday 15 November 2019 at 10:00
A graphic image of a bloodied man has been shared thousands of times in multiple posts on Facebook which claim it shows a Sri Lankan ruling party supporter who was shot by an opposition parliamentarian’s bodyguards. This claim is false; the photo shows a man who took part in an emergency response drill in Sri Lanka; police told AFP two of the opposition parliamentarian’s bodyguards were arrested after shooting two people on November 6 but neither victim was seriously injured. 
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This video shows a Sri Lankan ruling party MP referring to the national anthem, but he did not suggest singing it in Arabic

Published on Tuesday 5 November 2019 at 11:05
A video has been viewed tens of thousands of times in multiple Facebook posts which claim it shows a Sri Lankan ruling party MP calling for his party’s candidate to be elected as president because then the national anthem would be sung in Arabic. The claim is false; a closer analysis of the video found the parliamentarian did not use the Sinhalese word for “Arabic” in his speech; the parliamentarian also denied he used the word in the speech.  
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Sri Lanka Police said the driver was charged with a traffic violation for placing unnecessary fixtures on the rear view mirror -- not for displaying a Buddha statue

Published on Monday 4 November 2019 at 04:50Updated on Tuesday 5 November 2019 at 04:02
Two images have been shared thousands of times in multiple posts on Facebook which claim a motorist in Sri Lanka was fined after displaying a Buddha figurine on his vehicle dashboard. This claim is false; Sri Lanka Police said the driver was charged with a traffic violation after allegedly hanging garlands on his rear view mirror, obstructing his line of sight. The alleged offence did not relate to the Buddha figurine being displayed on the dashboard, police said.
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