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  • 2020-12-04 (xsd:date)
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  • This is not a genuine newspaper article about a Sri Lankan opposition leader (en)
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  • A purported screenshot of a Sinhala-language newspaper has been shared hundreds of times in multiple Facebook posts which claim it shows a quote from a Sri Lankan opposition leader, stating he has no faith in an alleged traditional medicine cure for Covid-19. The posts circulated online shortly after a Sri Lankan doctor of traditional medicine said he had found a cure for Covid-19. However, the claim is misleading; AFP could not locate the purported article in the newspaper’s archives, and a spokesperson for the newspaper said the purported article was doctored. As of December 3, 2020, there is no universally recognised cure for Covid-19. The screenshot of the purported newspaper article was published in this post on December 1, 2020. It features an image of Sri Lankan Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa . It has been shared more than 360 times. The Sinhala-language news item is titled: We have no faith in the indigenous medicine developed in relation to Covid - Sajith Premadasa. The Sinhala-language text superimposed on the image reads: When a white man says a cure has been found, these betrayers will accept it with open arms... When a Sinhalese says a local medicine has been found, they complain!! Ill breeding is to blame!! Screenshot of the Facebook post published on December 1, 2020 In December 2020, Sri Lankan media reported that a doctor of traditional medicine had found a cure for Covid-19, stating clinical tests had found it has a 100% success rate. The medicine was also tried by Sri Lankan Health Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi, Sri Lankan media site Newswire reported here . Sri Lanka Health Promotion Bureau statistics shows that as of December 3, 2020 the total number of patients who tested positive for Covid-19 in Sri Lanka stood at 25,410. The misleading posts criticise Premadasa for allegedly suggesting the purported medicine is not a real cure for Covid-19. The image was shared alongside a similar claim on Facebook here , here , here , here and here . However, the claim is misleading; the newspaper article has been doctored. Closer examination of the purported newspaper article screenshot found the masthead shows the logo of Sinhala daily Lankadeepa . The dateline reads November 30, 2020. In response to the misleading posts, a newspaper spokesperson said no such article quoting Premadasa was published in its November 30, 2020 edition. A closer look of the screenshot will also reveal that it is different to the Lankadeepa layout, the spokesperson said by phone on December 1, 2020. A search of the November 30, 2020 edition of Lankadeepa found no article quoting Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa on purported Covid-19 cure. As of December 3, 2020, there is no cure for Covid-19 that is recognised by international health bodies. Dozens of companies, from biotech start-ups to Big Pharma, are in the race to develop a safe and effective coronavirus vaccine, AFP reported here on December 2. (en)
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