Sri Lanka officials reject false claim police approval needed for romantic relationships

"Anura brother (elder sibling), making a system change," reads a Sinhala-language Facebook post shared on April 27, 2026, referring to Dissanayake. 

The post includes an image that appears to show a news graphic bearing the logos of local outlets including the state-run ITN News, ITN Sri Lanka, and television and mobile service providers Peo TV and Dialog with text that reads: "There is an application form for permission to have a romantic relationship" (archived here, here, here and here).

It also shows a picture of former police spokesperson Nihal Thalduwa and what appears to be a government form (archived here and here). 

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Screenshot of the false post taken on April 28 with red Xs added by AFP

Leftist leader Dissanayake pledged to change what he called the island's corrupt political nature, with his National People's Power coalition promising a "system change" (archived here and here). 

But critics said he has failed to deliver even after nearly two years in power (archived here and here). 

Comments show some users appear to believe the graphic shows a genuine announcement. 

"These are very cheap initiatives. You need to know how to behave. Then those so-called powerful men take women to five-star hotels, do they also need to apply for these approvals?" one user wrote. 

"Why do we need to take approval from these scoundrels. This is a democratic country. They also live off on our tax money," another wrote.

The claim -- shared by a user who also previously posted misinformation that was fact-checked by AFP -- also spread on Facebook, Instagram and Threads.

But there is no such government order. 

Minura Senarath, acting police spokesman of the Sri Lankan police, told AFP over the phone on April 30 that the public "does not require such approval or permission".

"This is obviously false. Replying to such claims only undermines our credibility." 

Altered graphic

A keyword search on Facebook found ITN News published the original graphic on its page on September 27, 2023, which reveals the false graphic changed its meaning by masking the Sinhala word for "no" with an emoji (archived link). 

"There is no application form for permission to have a romantic relationship," overlaid text on the image reads. 

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Screenshot comparison of the false post (left) and the original post published by ITN News, with the altered text highlighted by AFP

ITN published the graphic days after the police detained 24 young couples in a park in a Colombo suburb for alleged public indecency, drawing criticism of the police and sparking a debate over whether couples needed official permission to be in a relationship (archived here and here). 

Police denied the claims at the time, saying no approval was required (archived link). 

A reverse image search on Google and a separate search on the ITN News website showed the outlet carried a news report on September 27, 2023 quoting Thalduwa -- a spokesperson for the police at the time -- saying the claim is false (archived link). 

Hasini Ekanayake, the head of the ITN News' digital department, also told AFP via email on May 7: "The circulating graphic is a manipulated version of our original clarification post." 

"The graphic currently circulating online is false and misleading. We found that a similar false claim circulated in 2023, and ITN had published a clarification at the time," she added. 

"This is clearly fake news," Kaushalya Ariyarathne, Deputy Minister of Mass Media, told AFP via WhatsApp on May 6, 2026 (archived link). 

"There is no such government regulation, and ITN does not report unverified news. It is apparent that this story is created." 

AFP has previously debunked other fabricated news graphics circulating on social media.