Sri Lankan man at luxury hotel misidentified as Dissanayake holidaying abroad
- Published on October 15, 2025 at 08:59
- 2 min read
- By Harshana SILVA, AFP Sri Lanka
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Sri Lankan leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake was elected to the country's top job on a promise to tackle corruption. Social media users have shared a clip with a false claim it showed the president holidaying at a luxury hotel while travelling overseas. The woman seen in the video -- Mary Bernard -- told AFP it actually shows her and her husband relaxing at a hotel in Colombo after attending a wedding.
"When you are human, you should eat, drink, live, and make yourself comfortable. We will not be jealous," reads a Sinhala-language Facebook post taking a dig at Dissanayake on September 25, 2025.
It includes a video that shows a man sitting alongside a woman in what looks like a hotel.
The clip was shared elsewhere on Facebook as Dissanayake travelled to New York, where he addressed the UN General Assembly and attended a dinner reception hosted by US President Donald Trump (archived here and here).
The Sri Lankan leader and his ruling coalition, the National People's Power, swept into power in 2024 on a promise to tackle corruption and recover stolen assets (archived link).
The self-avowed Marxist leader has maintained his political party would not accept extravagant privileges during its tenure (archived here, here and here).
Dissanayake's party voted en masse to endorse a law that repealed a 1986 act granting luxury accommodation and secretarial services to former leaders (archived link).
Comments indicated some users believed the photo showed the president holidaying at a luxury hotel.
"Old JVP members will not approve this practice. But according to modern JVP members, this is fine," commented a user, referring to Dissanayake's People's Liberation Front, known locally as Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna party (archived link).
Another user commented, "Here is your president having fun abroad."
Couple in Colombo
A reverse image search on Google found the same video posted on TikTok on September 23 with a caption that reads, "Mary Bernard, when mom knows how to slay a saree" (archived here and here).
A keyword search reveals the same video was posted on an Instagram account under the Mary Bernard name with the caption: "me after a wedding chilling with my family" (archived here and here).
"The video shows me and my husband, Roshan Nilanga Perera, at Honey Beach on September 20," Bernard told AFP on October 9.
"It was filmed by our daughter", she added.
Honey Beach Club is a restaurant and outdoor space at The Kingsbury Hotel in Colombo (archived here and here).
Images and videos on Google Maps indicate the footage was captured at the Honey Beach Club restaurant, located within the Kingsbury Hotel, showing the same setting featuring a pool, two buildings, lanterns and curtains.
AFP has repeatedly debunked misinformation related to Dissanayake.
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