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Several advertisements have been going viral lately, claiming that the government offers lifetime financial payments to individuals aged 35 and above. Another viral dubious message claimed that PM Harini Wickremasinghe had mentioned of extremely high return passive income options sponsored by the government.
Both these posts however, have several red flags and encourages users to click on a link to receive the payment, raising concerns about potential fraud.
Since this claim has gained significant attention, we conducted a thorough fact-check to verify its authenticity.
Social Media Posts: (Claim 1)
Below post is circulating on WhatsApp, claiming that the government is offering lifetime payments through an advertisement posted on Daily Mirror website. The claim is being shared alongside an image of the Prime Minister and appears to be a sponsored ad on the Daily Mirror website’s mobile version.
Social Media Posts: (Claim 2)
In another link, seemingly resembling Daily Mirror online claims that by the order of Harini Amarasuriya, residents of Sri Lanka would start receiving income from taxes as seen below.
Link | Archived
Fact-Check :
No Reports from Mainstream Media
We checked whether any mainstream news organizations have reported such a government program. No credible media outlets have published information supporting this claim. If the government had indeed launched a nationwide financial assistance program, major media channels would have covered it.
The Government Has Denied the Claim
To verify further, we reached out to the Prime Minister’s Media Unit. Officials completely denied the existence of any such program claimed in both the links, stating that the government has not introduced any lifetime payment scheme for citizens nor any such high yielding passive income options.
We checked government news sites and recent media briefings, but there was no mention of such a program by the government.
Fake Daily Mirror Mobile Preview:
One key factor that makes this claim appear convincing is that it shows what seems to be a Daily Mirror website preview on mobile, featuring a government-sponsored ad promoting the alleged payment.
However, upon closer inspection, we found that this is a fabricated screenshot. The actual Daily Mirror mobile version has a different layout in terms of logo placement, ad positioning, and overall design.
This indicates that the image in circulation was altered to mislead the public.
To provide clarity, we have included a screenshot of the actual website below for comparison.
Even the second claim furnished a purported image from an interview from Harini Wickremasinghe. However after inspecting the source of the video we found it to be over 10 months old, from an interview from May 2024, which is few months before the 2024 presidential elections when Harini was not part of the government.
The “Face To Face | Dr. Harini Amarasuriya | The Weight of Expectations | May 07th 2024” can be seen below, and even during that interview Harini never spoke of any passive income options. Interview can be seen below.
Beware of Fraudulent Links
This viral claim is a fraudulent attempt that could lead to phishing scams, where scammers try to collect personal and financial details from unsuspecting users.
Do not click on suspicious links or provide personal information.
Verify claims with official sources before trusting or sharing them.
If you come across such misleading posts, report them to prevent others from falling for them.
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Conclusion :
A viral claim is spreading online, stating that the government is offering lifetime payments to individuals aged 35 and above through a Daily Mirror ad. The claim even features the Prime Minister’s image to appear legitimate. This is false! The government has not announced such a program, and the Prime Minister’s Media Unit has denied it. The Daily Mirror website preview used in the claim is fake, with altered logos and layout. Beware of phishing scams! Do not click suspicious links or share personal details.
Title:No, the Government Is Not Offering Lifetime Payments Through This Link
Fact Check By: Pavithra Sandamali
Result: False
