Posts falsely claim Trump imposed punitive tariffs on Sri Lanka for rescuing Iranian sailors

The purported news graphic featuring a quote attributed to US President Donald Trump was shared on Facebook on March 6, 2026.

"Severe tariffs will be imposed on Sri Lanka for rescuing sailors from enemy ships that attacked the United States," reads the quote, written in Sinhalese, below a photo of Trump sitting at his desk in the Oval Office.

The graphic's Sinhala-language caption praises Trump and encourages the imposition of further tariffs to force Sri Lanka's President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to step down.

It circulated after Sri Lanka rescued 32 sailors from the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena, which was sunk by a torpedo fired from a US submarine just outside Sri Lanka's territorial waters in an incident that extended the Middle East war to the Indian Ocean (archived link).

At least 84 sailors perished when the ship was sunk, and their remains have since been repatriated to Iran.

The ship had been taking part in a naval exercise organised by India off the coast of Visakhapatnam when the United States and Israel began bombing Iran.

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Screenshot of the false Facebook post captured on March 9, 2026, with a red X added by AFP

The same graphic was also shared elsewhere in similar Facebook posts.

"Awesome, the US should hit Sri Lanka with heavy tariffs and economic sanctions. Then this liar's government would be finished," read a comment on one of the posts.  

Another said: "Idiots in Sri Lanka are very good at inviting trouble. Now let's enjoy. Sri Lanka will be finished because of these foolish decisions, taken by these idiots. Provide solutions to this crisis and send these refugees away."

While Trump has used tariffs to impose his agenda, there have been no official reports of his administration slapping new punitive duties on Sri Lanka since the start of the Middle East war.

Around 40 percent of Sri Lanka's US$5 billion of garment exports in 2024 went to the United States, and officials reacted with relief when a threatened 44 percent tariff floated in April 2025 was reduced to 20 percent four months later (archived here and here).

A Supreme Court ruling in February 2026 struck down a swath of Trump's tariffs, ruling he had exceeded his authority, though the US president imposed a 10 percent global import tax via executive order shortly after (archived here and here).

Fabricated graphic

The circulating graphic bears the logo of Sinhala-language newspaper Mawbima, but the outlet's editor-in-chief Chaminda Wariyagoda told AFP they had not published any such story in print, online or on its social media platforms.

"The post appears to have been published by a third party impersonating Mawbima and using our logo," Wariyagoda said in a March 11 email.

The fabricated graphic also differs in style from genuine graphics produced by Mawbima -- it uses double quotation marks and dashes, and does not include the newspaper's URL at the bottom (archived link).

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Screenshot comparison of the falsely shared graphic (L) and a genuine graphic produced by Mawbiwa, with differences highlighted by AFP

A reverse image search on Google found the photo used in the graphic was previously used by Axios on February 7, 2025, in a report titled: "Trump imposes sanctions on International Criminal Court over Israel probe" (archived link). The photo is credited to Getty Images.

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Screenshot of the photo used in the false post (L) and in the Axios report

A keyword search led to the photo on the Getty Images website, which says it shows Trump speaking to reporters after signing an executive order to appoint the deputy administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration on January 30, 2025 (archived link).

AFP has debunked other misinformation stemming from the war in the Middle East.