Sri Lankan official targeted with bogus quote on plastic surgery factory

"A factory to manufacture artificial vaginal membranes for women's vaginal reconstruction will be set up soon," reads a news-style graphic that attributed the remarks to Handunnetti.

The surgical procedure treats various medical issues such as injuries and abnormalities -- and is also used for gender-affirming care (archived here and here).

Handunnetti supposedly also announced the factory will be constructed in the Katunayake free trade zone north of the capital Colombo.

The image features the logo of local outlet Top News Lk and a picture of the head of the country's Ministry of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development (archived here and here).

It was shared by Colombo municipal councillor Harshani Sandaruwani on her Facebook page -- where she has more than 61,000 followers -- on May 7, 2026 (archived link).

"Oh my, Sri Lanka was only lacking this, now the country will develop greatly," the politician from the opposition United National Party wrote sarcastically in the caption (archived link). 

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Screenshot of the false post taken on June 2, with red Xs added by AFP

LGBTQ topics often attract fierce political debate in the South Asian nation -- including a planned partnership between the Sri Lankan government and the local advocacy group Equal Ground in 2025 to market it as an inclusive destination (archived link). 

The plan drew widespread criticism from opposition politicians and former officials, who said the country should not base tourism promotion "on issues of gender identity or sexual orientation" before it was ultimately shelved (archived link).

Homosexual activity is illegal in the Buddhist-majority nation, and the penalty for same-sex relations is up to 10 years in prison.

Women, girls, LGBTQ persons and ethnic minorities are disproportionately targeted in online abuse, including hate speech, disinformation and doxxing, according to a 2025 report from the United Nations (archived link).

The fabricated graphic was shared elsewhere on Facebook, drawing angry responses from many social media users who believed it was genuine.

"Their brains are filled with these sorts of mentalities and sexualities," one wrote. Another said: "These scoundrel-bastards destroy the country's culture."

Faked graphic

But Sandaruwani -- the councillor who shared the graphic -- told AFP on June 2 she had deleted the post after learning the quote was fabricated.

Dhananjaya Naranbadda, managing director of Top News Lk's owner Wide Lens Media Network, also told AFP in an email on May 20 that the organisation did not publish the graphic.

"This is false propaganda," he went on to say. 

The outlet separately denied it had published the news graphic in a post on its official Facebook page on the same day (archived link). 

"We would like to responsibly inform you that this post circulating on social media as a post published by our organisation is fake and that we did not publish such a post," the statement reads.

Keyword searches on Top News Lk's website and social media pages found no such report.

The photo used in the false graphic was taken from a post shared on Handunnetti's official Facebook page on April 24, where he delivered remarks to mark the launch of a calendar that catalogues events to be held in the country (archived link).

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Screenshot comparison of the false post (L) and the post on Handunnetti's Facebook page featuring the same picture

Part of the minister's speech was posted on his official Facebook page but it contained no remarks about the supposed factory, while Sri Lankan media reports on the launch did not mention the purported plan (archived here, here and here). 

Handunnetti told AFP via WhatsApp on June 1 that he did not make such a statement.

"I strongly condemn the creation of such fake news," he said.

AFP has debunked other false claims targeting Sri Lankan politicians with fake quotes.