Doctored poster circulates online about 'anti-government rally led by former Sri Lankan PM'

"Let us rally and stand against the depraved coalition government and secure our national resources - Let us safeguard state resources," reads the Sinhala-language title of the doctored poster published in this Facebook post on March 29, 2023.

It features an image of Sri Lanka's former prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, who resigned in May 2022, weeks after the island nation declared bankruptcy.

His resignation came after he was rescued by troops when thousands of anti-government protesters stormed his official residence in Colombo. He was replaced by Ranil Wickremesinghe, a political veteran also deeply unpopular among the protesters.

Two months later, the country's president, Rajapaksa's brother Gotabaya, also resigned after demonstrators stormed his residence.

The doctored poster claims the rally, supposedly planned for April 2, was set to be led by Rajapaksa and "the Joint Trade Union Bureau and Centre for the Protection of National Resources" -- however there are no official groups by that name based in the island nation.

It reads: "Led by Hon. Mahinda Rajapaksa, this rally will be held at the Dehiwala S de S Jayasinghe hall on April 2 at 09:30 am / Everyone is invited."

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Screenshot of the false Facebook post, captured on March 31, 2023

The poster began circulating online after the government announced plans to sell shares of multiple state-owned enterprises.

Local media reported that the move to privatise parts of the state sector prompted trade unions to stage protests. A group of trade unionists met Rajapaksa -- who was Sri Lanka's president between 2005 and 2015 -- on April 1 to discuss an industrial dispute with the state-owned Ceylon Petroleum Corporation, asking him to intervene.

As of April 4, Rajapaksa has not commented on the issue.

An identical doctored poster was shared alongside a similar claim in Facebook posts here and here.

Comments from some users on the posts indicated they believed Rajapaksa would lead the advertised rally.

One user wrote, "Big Boss is back! He sold half the country to China but is against it when Ranil follows his path."

Another user's comment reads: "Why can't this grandfather just retire? Where are his children? Why can't they tell him to take a break permanently."

Doctored poster

A keyword search for the purported event found this post published on Rajapaksa's official Facebook page on March 30.

The post features the same poster, but it has been labelled "Fake News".

The caption reads, "Claims of this alleged event organised for April 2 are false".

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Screenshot of the Facebook post published on Mahinda Rajapaksa's official page, captured on March 31, 2023

A spokesperson for Rajapaksa told AFP on March 31 the poster was "fake".

"He is not participating in any such event or rally," they said.

M. Mannapperuma, the Commissioner of the Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia Municipal Council, which manages the S. De. S. Jayasinghe Hall, told AFP on April 3 that no such event was held at the venue.

As of April 4, there have been no media reports about any such rally.