Sri Lankan Journalist’s Death Surrounded by Misinformation

In the wake of a prominent journalist’s death, Sri Lankan authorities are grappling with a wave of misinformation that has falsely linked the Rajapaksa family to the passing of Darshana Handungoda, a vocal critic of the once-dominant political dynasty.

Handungoda, a well-known media figure in Sri Lanka, died on January 10 after receiving medical treatment for a serious health condition. Multiple local news outlets confirmed his death resulted from illness, not foul play as suggested in widely circulated social media posts.

Despite clear evidence of his health struggles—including Handungoda’s own August 2025 YouTube video where he disclosed his need for surgery—fabricated news stories alleging his murder have gained traction online.

The false narrative centered around a doctored newspaper clipping purportedly from the Sri Lankan daily Mawbima. The fabricated article, dated January 11, 2026, carried the explosive headline “Darshana Handungoda was killed by Rajapaksas” and attributed inflammatory statements to Sunil Watagala, Sri Lanka’s Deputy Minister of Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs.

“Darshana was a good friend. He had a lot of secrets with him,” read part of the counterfeit report, which was designed to mimic Mawbima’s layout and formatting.

The fabrication proved convincing enough that numerous social media users responded with calls for justice. “If they killed him, this is your government. Put them in jail,” wrote one Facebook user, while another demanded, “So enforce the law without whining and crying.”

Mawbima’s news editor Bingun Menaka Gamage quickly denounced the false report. “We interviewed Deputy Minister Sunil Watagala but this is a fake social media post that is falsely presented as a news report published in the Sunday Mawbima,” Gamage confirmed in an email statement. The newspaper also published a formal clarification in its January 13 print edition.

The real damage had already been done, however, as the fabricated story exploited existing political tensions in Sri Lanka. Watagala has been an outspoken critic of the Rajapaksa family, publicly accusing the clan—which includes former presidents Mahinda and Gotabaya Rajapaksa—of corruption and various criminal activities.

The false allegations were serious enough that Watagala’s spokesperson, Priyantha Maddumage, confirmed the deputy minister “has already lodged a complaint with the Criminal Investigation Department of Sri Lanka police” regarding the fabricated news story.

Fact-checkers examining the claim found no such article in Mawbima’s January 11 edition, either in print or online. Further investigation revealed that an authentic interview with Watagala had appeared in the newspaper on November 23, 2025, under the headline “How many shootings have we stopped?” The legitimate article made no mention of Handungoda.

This incident highlights the ongoing challenge of misinformation in Sri Lanka’s political landscape, where the Rajapaksa family dominated politics for years before the economic crisis that led to protests and significant political changes in 2022. The family, which once held multiple high-level positions in government, remains a polarizing force in Sri Lankan politics.

The spread of this false narrative also illustrates the growing problem of fabricated newspaper headlines and doctored media images being used to spread misinformation globally. Media literacy experts note that such fabrications often target politically divisive issues and exploit existing societal tensions.

As investigations continue, authorities are working to identify the source of the fabricated report while also addressing the wider implications of such targeted misinformation in Sri Lanka’s evolving political environment.