FactSeeker has observed a widely circulated social media message, accompanied by a photo, claiming that President Anura Kumara Dissanayake stated, “Fuel filling stations will be brought under government control.” A similar claim was attributed to the ‘Esana’ news site, gaining significant traction online.

Upon investigation, FactSeeker found that the ‘Esana’ news site had not published any such article. The viral claim includes the statement: “If they spend too much, we will have to bring fuel filling stations under government control, and we will not be able to make additional payments.” However, FactSeeker confirmed with ‘Esana’ that no such report exists.

Additionally, the photo used in this post was taken from an unrelated article on the ‘Esana’ site, originally published on February 6, 2024. The image has been altered and repurposed to support the false claim.

Further verification—including checks on the President’s official social media pages, government communications, and mainstream media—found no record of such a statement. FactSeeker also reached out to the media department of the National People’s Power (NPP) party, which confirmed that the claim is entirely false.

The circulating social media post falsely claiming that President Anura Kumara Dissanayake stated, “Fuel filling stations may be brought under government control,” is misleading and untrue.