Video shows Sri Lankan journalist talking about legal fees, not cyclone cash aid
- Published on January 9, 2026 at 03:36
- 2 min read
- By Harshana SILVA, AFP Sri Lanka
After Sri Lanka announced a home-cleaning assistance package for victims of the deadly Cyclone Ditwah in December 2025, a video of a news anchor from a major television network apparently calling 25,000 rupees a "waste" circulated on social media posts falsely claiming he was deriding the payouts. The footage in fact predates the aid announcement, and the anchor, Sankha Amarjith, told AFP he was talking about legal fees paid by a crew member.
A video of the end of a news broadcast by Sri Lankan broadcaster TV Derana featuring anchors Sankha Amarjith and Sithumini Gunaweera was shared in a Facebook reel on December 23, 2025 (archived here and here).
Superimposed Sinhala-language text alongside the video reads, "Waste of 25,000. Derana's Sankha revealed his true self inside the newsroom. Everything recorded on camera". The video's caption repeats the claim and says the footage from TV Derana was "leaked".
The video shows Amarjith saying, "Isn't it a waste of money, giving 25,000?" as he walks off stage.
The post appears to refer to a home-cleaning aid package of 25,000 rupees (US$80) announced by Sri Lanka's Ministry of Finance on December 2, 2025 for households and enterprises affected by Cyclone Ditwah that struck the South Asian country in November 2025 (archived link).
The storm left more than 640 dead and another 183 missing, as well as caused an estimated US$4.1 billion in damage, according to a World Bank report (archived link).
Victims of the cyclone will also be offered up to 10 million rupees to buy land for new housing, as well as one million rupees as compensation for each person killed or permanently disabled (archived link).
Posts claiming the news anchor had brushed off the aid package as a "waste" appeared elsewhere on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
Misled users left comments criticising the news channel: "Scoundrels in Derana, you idiots. You are not the one giving the money. It is given to people. It is valuable for them."
"He says giving 25,000 to those left helpless by the floods is a waste," another wrote.
However, the video predates the disaster and was taken out of context.
Amarjith told AFP on January 6, 2026 he had been referring to legal fees paid by a crew member.
"I am a lawyer too, and back then I had asked for details and said it was a waste to pay that much money, a waste of 25,000," he said.
A reverse image search on Google found the same video posted on Gunaweera's TikTok account on September 5, 2025 (archived link).
"The news is over", reads the Sinhalese-language sticker text on the video.
"We recorded the clip about four months before Cyclone Ditwah," she told AFP on January 1, 2026.
Gunaweera pointed AFP to a July 19, 2025 news bulletin, which features the same sign off and the anchors wearing the same outfits (archived link).
The broadcast that day covered private tutor class reform, a missing fisherman, and the arrest of a lawmaker's son, among others, but does not mention any 25,000 rupee payout.
AFP has previously debunked false claims related to Cyclone Ditwah.
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