A video is being shared widely on social media with a claim that it shows Sri Lankan Ministers getting beaten by the public. The video is being shared in the context of the recent economic crisis in Sri Lanka which led to clashes between various groups. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video of Sri Lankan Ministers getting beaten by the public.
Fact: The half-naked people kneeling in the video are not Sri Lankan Ministers. Several Sri Lankan media agencies have reported that the people in the video are alleged prisoners who have been brought to attack the protesters. While there were some attacks directed at the ruling party, the visuals in the video do not show them. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When the screenshots of the video were run through Google Reverse Image Search, many similar videos were found in the search results. ‘Lankadeepa’, a media agency in Sri Lanka, has posted the same video and said– “It is reported that prisoners have been brought to attack the protesters in Gota” (translated into English). Many other Sri Lankan media agencies have also posted the video saying that the people in the video are reportedly prisoners who have been brought to attack the protesters. Some of those news reports can be read here, here, here, and here. The clarification from the Prison officials regarding the alleged escape of the prisoners can be seen here and here.
While there were some attacks directed at the ruling party, the visuals in the video do not show them. Some of the news reports regarding those attacks can be read here and here.
To sum it up, the people getting beaten in this video are reportedly prisoners, not Sri Lankan Ministers.
