Doctored report targets Sri Lankan opposition party with temple looting claim ahead of polls

This article is more than one year old.
Published on March 10, 2023 at 09:58
3 min read
By AFP Sri Lanka

Ahead of local elections in Sri Lanka, social media posts have repeatedly shared a doctored Sinhala-language newspaper report purportedly saying two members of the opposition National People's Power (NPP) were caught looting a temple for treasure. Plunder of historical sites has been a widespread concern in the island nation but Sri Lankan police told AFP the incident described in the posts has not occurred. The original newspaper report was actually about an NPP candidate who was arrested following an alleged assault.

The misleading claim was shared on Facebook on March 3, 2023.

The post features an image from local TV programme Paththare Wisthare apparently flashing a report published by Sinhala-language newspaper Maubima on the same day.

"Two NPP candidates nabbed treasure hunting", reads the report's manipulated headline.

"If this is how they behave before having any power, the (Buddhist) temples will all be destroyed by these animals once elected and in power", the post says.

Sri Lanka's archaeology department has warned theft of cultural artefacts scattered in temples across the nation seem to be increasing each year, state-run newspaper Daily News reported in 2022.

Ahead of local elections planned for April 25, the opposition NPP has campaigned on a platform of transparency and zero corruption.

Screenshot of the misleading Facebook post captured on March 7, 2023

An identical image was shared multiple times on Facebook here and here. Comments from some users indicated they believed the image and claim were genuine.

One wrote: "Aren't these the types that claim to want to lead us towards a nation of zero-corruption. Already proving they are no different."

Another comment read: "In the true style of JVP-ers, they have not changed."

But a spokesperson for the Sri Lankan police told AFP "no such incident has occurred".

The claim about the NPP circulated online after one of its candidates was arrested over an incident in which a child was hospitalised following an alleged assault.

Upul Ranjan, the NPP's media spokesman, said: "The person in question was included as an additional candidate and he has been arrested over the incident."

No NPP candidate had been arrested for alleged "treasure hunting", Ranjan said.

Doctored image

AFP found that the headline seen in the misleading posts was not published in the print or web editions of the Maubima newspaper on March 3, 2023.

A spokesman for Maubima told AFP: "This image is photoshopped, no such headline was published in our newspaper."

During the March 3, 2023 edition of the Paththare Wisthare TV programme, the host actually highlights the genuine Maubima report, as shown at the 20-minute and one-second mark here on YouTube.

Below is a screenshot of the article published on the same day:

Screenshot of the article published by Maubima on March 3, 2023

The original headline reads: "A complaint lodged against an NPP candidate who allegedly shoved a child's head against a wall".

Below is a screenshot comparison of the doctored image in the misleading posts (left) and the YouTube clip (right):

Screenshot comparison

A spokesperson for the local police force in the Colombo suburb of Ja-Ela said a man was arrested following the incident reported in the newspaper on March 3.

"He was arrested following a complaint lodged by the mother," the spokesperson said. "The child has been hospitalised and the person questioned (by police) was charged under the penal code."

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