This photo shows deforestation in the Amazon forest in South America

This article is more than one year old.
Published on August 27, 2020 at 10:30
2 min read
By AFP Sri Lanka

A photo has been shared in multiple Facebook posts alongside claims that it shows deforestation in Sinharaja, a protected forest reserve in Sri Lanka. The claim, however, is misleading; the photo in fact shows deforestation in the Amazon.

The photo was published on Facebook here on August 24, 2020. The post has been shared more than 500 times.

The Sinhala language text superimposed on the image reads:

“The Sinharaja that is being murdered by them

"She who saved the breath of air to over 22 million Sri Lankans is now breathing her last because of the actions of those sinful people.”

Screenshot of the Facebook post published on August 24, 2020

The claim circulated after environmentalists criticised the construction of a road through the Sinharaja forest -- a designated UNESCO heritage site.

The photo was also shared alongside similar claims on Facebook here, here and here.

However, the claim is misleading.

A reverse image search found that the photo in fact shows deforestation in the Amazon forest in South America.

The photo was published by Getty Images here and is captioned: “Deforestation in the Amazon”.

Screenshot of the picture published on Getty Images

Below is a screenshot comparison of the misleading posts’ image (L) and the Getty Images photo (R):

Screenshot comparison of the misleading posts’ image (L) and the Getty Images photo (R)

The image was also featured in this AFP article about global forest loss that was published by The Guardian in 2015.

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