Social media users share award-winning photograph falsely attributed to Sri Lankan opposition leader

Published on January 23, 2025 at 09:42
Updated on January 23, 2025 at 10:11
3 min read
By Harshana SILVA, AFP Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan opposition leader Sajith Premadasa has suffered several electoral setbacks in recent years. Social media users have shared a picture that won an award with a false claim that he is the photographer, adding he is "really talented". The person who actually took the picture -- Tharindu Dilshan Sendanayake -- told AFP that was his entry into the competition organised by the Indian magazine Sanctuary Asia. The publication also credited the picture to Sendanayake on its website.

The photo showing a pack of wild boars surrounding a leopard with an inset picture of Premadasa holding a camera was published on Facebook on January 4.

Sinhala-language text superimposed on the photo reads: "The wild photograph which amazed Asia."

"A really talented person," the picture's caption said.

Screenshot of the false post captured on January 13, 2025

The false claim surfaced after Premadasa's party failed to obtain a majority in parliamentary polls held in November 2024. He also failed in his bids for the Sri Lankan presidency earlier in the year and in 2019.

Outside of politics, he is known to be a passionate pop musician and a keen wildlife photographer. His aide said Premadasa sought to cheer himself up by spending days at wildlife sanctuaries for elephants and leopards after his unsuccessful 2019 campaign (archived link).

The false claim was also shared here and here on Facebook and here and here on YouTube.

Some users appeared to believe Premadasa took the picture.

"I have seen him quite often in Yala armed with big cameras and safari jeeps, I guess he is good at taking wildlife photographs," one person commented, referring to a national park in Sri Lanka.

Another wrote: "It's a great capture, my friend."

But it was actually taken by a professional wildlife photographer.

False attribution

A keyword search on Google found the same image with a different inset picture shared on the official Facebook page of Sri Lankan state broadcaster Rupavahini News on December 15, 2024 (archived link).

The Sinhala-language caption of the picture partly read: "Tharindu Dilshan Sendanayake won the award for Best Wildlife Photographer of the Year at the 'Sanctuary Asia Wildlife Photographer of the Year' competition. The event was held in Mumbai, India."

"Tharindu Dilshan Sendanayake is the first Sri Lankan photographer to win the award," it went on to say.

Below is a screenshot comparison of the image shared in the false posts (left) and the Facebook post shared by Rupavahini News (right):

Screenshot comparison of the image shared in the false posts (left) and the Facebook post shared by Rupavahini News (right)

Rupavahini News also reported on Sendanayake receiving the award on its YouTube channel on December 15, 2024 (archived link).

Sendanayake has confirmed to AFP that he took the picture.

"Yes, this is my winning photograph," he said on January 15. "The photograph was taken at the Yala National Park in December 2022."

Sanctuary Asia is an India-based nature and wildlife conservation magazine that has been in publication since 1981.

The magazine published the picture on its website under the Photography Awards section, credited to Sendanayake (archived link).

Below is a screenshot of the photo published on the website:

Screenshot of Sendanayake's award-winning photograph published in the magazine's website

AFP has previously debunked other misinformation related to Premadasa.

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