A false claim that Minister Nalinda's convoy was pelted with stones in Rajagiriya.

A false news report circulated on some political social media Facebook pages last night (18) stating that when Health and Media Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa was passing the Rajagiriya flyover, people in a nearby fuel queue became agitated and launched a 'stone shower' targeting his motorcade. The police have confirmed that this news is false and have also clarified that Minister Nalinda Jayatissa is not a person who travels in a motorcade.

It was observed this morning that several individuals who propagated this false news have already deleted their posts from where they were published.

It is also noteworthy that this news was published after a special discussion was held yesterday (18)  afternoon with representatives of the American Meta company, which owns Facebook, chaired by the Minister of Health and Media, regarding practical steps to be taken to prevent the spread of misinformation on social media. During this discussion, attention was focused on combating false information, expanding the dissemination of accurate information, and improving the accuracy of digital content related to information. 

Representing Meta for this special discussion were Senura Abeywardena, Head of Public Policy for Central Asia, Mongolia, Sri Lanka, and Maldives; Tehara Punchihewa, Assistant Public Policy Manager for South Asia; Priyanka Bhalla, Head of Asia Pacific Security Policy; Mandana Ismail Abeywickrema, member of the “Rata Ma Ekata” National Operations Committee and the Rebuilding Sri Lanka Presidential Task Force; and Harsha Bandara, Director General of Government Information.

Previously, on the 3rd, Health and Media Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa had taken steps to file a lawsuit in the Colombo District Court, seeking one billion rupees in compensation from former Member of Parliament Wimal Weerawansa and a private channel, against baseless false accusations made against him. This was in connection with a public statement made by Wimal Weerawansa at a public meeting, alleging that Health and Media Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa had purchased goods using a credit card from a blacklisted pharmaceutical company in the country.

In 2022, the then government, which plunged the country into economic crisis, caused distress to the public due to a lack of funds, leading to fuel, gas, and electricity crises. At that time, representatives of the then government had to face such booing responses. It is understood that these types of false news reports are a result of another attempt by politically active social media pages and some media outlets to create an illusion that the experiences of that time are recurring.