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FactSeeker Investigates False Claims About Deputy Minister D.P. Sarath Opening a Toilet

Misleading
Misleading

The photo being shared is a photo taken during a community service event held in the Polonnaruwa area on March 4, 2019.

by Anonymous |

March 27, 2025

A photo being widely shared was initially linked to a community service event in Polonnaruwa on March 4, 2019. The image was mistakenly associated with claims that Deputy Minister D.P. Sarath had inaugurated a new toilet.

Upon investigating whether any news had been published in the mainstream media regarding this news being shared on social media, a video in which Member of Parliament Dayasiri Jayasekara made a comment on this matter was broadcast on Hiru TV’s main news yesterday (25).

LINK :-  https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1BDjQEzytZ/

The same news was also published in the Aruna newspaper yesterday (25). It stated, “The Deputy Minister inaugurated a new toilet and posted the photo on Facebook.”

However, the Deputy Minister issued a clear denial through an official media statement, explaining that the reports were false. He clarified that the photos circulating online were taken during a community service activity approximately five years ago, when a youth group built a toilet for a poor family in Polonnaruwa as part of a welfare project. There was no official ceremony, and the event was part of a social welfare program.

FactSeeker’s investigation also uncovered a post on the Deputy Minister’s Facebook page from March 4, 2019, which described the incident in detail.

The investigation confirms that MP Dayasiri Jayasekara made an incorrect claim based on the old photo, which led to misleading reports in mainstream media outlets.

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