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  • 2022-09-30 (xsd:date)
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  • Doctored picture of 'Lotus Tower outside Sri Lankan hospital' circulates amid economic crisis (en)
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  • An image shared hundreds of times in Sinhala-language posts appears to show a hospital patient lying in bed in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo while a controversial communications tower looms in the background. Some users criticised the government's decision to build the tower, which was financed by Chinese loans. However, the photo was doctored; the original photo does not show the tower in the background. The image was published in this Facebook post on September 18, 2022. It has been shared more than 600 times. It appears to show a man lying on a hospital bed close to a window which shows the Lotus Tower , a communications building financed by Chinese loans. The controversial tower -- plagued by corruption claims and branded a white elephant -- has become a symbol of the ousted Rajapaksa clan's closeness to Beijing, AFP reported . The picture circulated after the tower opened for public visits on September 15 amid a severe economic crisis in the island nation that has left hospitals unable to stock up on essential medicines. The tower attracted further mockery after a local monk said he could see Buddhist heaven from its observation deck. The Facebook post's caption makes reference in Sinhala to the monk's remarks, sarcastically saying that patients can enjoy the heavenly view of the tower from their hospital beds. Screenshot of the Facebook post captured on September 26, 2022. An identical image was shared dozens of times alongside similar claims on Facebook here and here . It was also shared on Twitter as seen here and here and on TikTok , where it received more than 27,000 views. Some users appeared to believe the image was genuine, while others criticised the government for prioritising the construction of the tower over funding hospitals. One user wrote in Sinhala: That eyesore is everywhere. Not even a sick man can lie in peace without being reminded of the stupidity of Sri Lankan leaders. Another commenter said: It doesn't matter that our people do not have medicine for their ailments or that they are expensive. We can all enjoy the view of the Lotus tower now from our hospital beds. However, the photo was doctored. Hospital photo A reverse image search on Google found an unedited version of the photo published in this Facebook post on September 6. In the backdrop, the photo shows a plain wall instead of a window with a view of the Lotus Tower. The post's Sinhala-language caption said drugs have become too expensive for many people in Sri Lanka. As of now, the situation in hospitals is tragic, it read. Below is a comparison of the photo in the misleading posts (left) and the original photo (right): Screenshot comparison between the photo in the misleading post (L) and the photo in the post from September 6 (R). The image's photographer -- Manoj Wickramabahu -- told AFP he took it at the Karapitiya hospital in southern Sri Lanka in early September, which is more than 100 kilometres (62 miles) from the Lotus Tower. Manoj also published the original photo on his Facebook page here on September 3. AFP has previously debunked claims about the Lotus Tower here and here . (en)
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