False 'Sri Lankan girl killed in washing machine' claim lifts details from child's death in France

Published on 26/05/2023 at 03:24

False claims that a five-year-old girl in southern Sri Lanka died after she was locked inside a washing machine have circulated in Facebook posts and WhatsApp messages. But the posts used details from a story about a three-year-old boy who died in France in 2011, as well as photos of a four-year-old girl who died in Qatar in 2022. Local police in Sri Lanka told AFP they had not received any reports about a similar case of cruelty against a child.