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  • 2022-12-09 (xsd:date)
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  • Myanmar barbed wire image misleadingly shared as 'Sri Lankan president's reinforced home' (en)
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  • An image of a wall topped with multiple layers of barbed wire has been misleadingly shared in Facebook posts in crisis-hit Sri Lanka that claim it shows President Ranil Wickremesinghe's reinforced residence after it was torched in July 2022 by anti-government protesters while he was prime minister. Although Wickremesinghe's property was reinforced with metal sheets after the arson attack, the image actually shows a reinforced wall in Myanmar's largest city Yangon. The image was shared in this post published on December 4, 2022, alongside an image of President Ranil Wickremesinghe . The Sinhala-language text superimposed on the image translates as: Hitler's mansion / Why has the man who called himself Hitler done this (reinforcements with barbed wire)? Why is he so scared? The reference to Hitler is linked to President Wickremesinghe's speech in parliament on November 23, where he said, I am like Hitler, referring to his critics' claims that he has been behaving like a dictator. Screenshot of the Facebook post, captured on December 6, 2022 In the same speech, Wickremesinghe criticised the violence unleashed by groups claiming to be part of the anti-government protest movement. On July 9, then-Prime Minister Wickremesinghe's private home was torched by protesters on the same day that ex-President Rajapaksa was forced to flee his official residence which was stormed by protesters, AFP reported . Four days later, Rajapaksa fled to the Maldives and from there to Singapore and resigned on July 14. The barbed wire image has been shared alongside a similar misleading claim here and here . The photo was actually captured in Myanmar's largest city Yangon. A reverse image search found it has been shared in Burmese-language Facebook posts, including this post from April 9 by Myanmar activist Ei Pencilo. The post's Burmese-language caption translates to English as: This house located in 7 miles is said to be owned by the one who has a connection with (the military). That's right. Since you are throwing pineapple inside, they are scared. What about with a drone? Just kidding, don’t cry. 7 miles refers to this neighbourhood in Yangon. Below is a screenshot comparison of the photo in the misleading posts (left) and the image from Ei Pencilo's post in April (right): Screenshot comparison of the photo from the misleading posts (left) and the image from Ei Pencilo's post in April (right) A closer analysis of the photo confirmed it was taken in Yangon. Below is a screenshot comparison of the letters YCDC – which refer to the Yangon City Development Committee -- seen in the photo (left) and the same marking on a sign post in Yangon (right), as captured by an AFP journalist: Screenshot comparison of the letters YCDC seen in the photo (left) and the same marking on a sign post in Yangon (right) An AFP journalist visited Wickremesinghe's residence on December 6 but was told by security guards not to film or take photos of the property. Although the property's walls had been reinforced with metal sheets following recent arson attacks, the walls did not have layers of barbed wire as seen in the misleading posts. (en)
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