Fraudulent message quoting Shakthi TV as Source

Colombo (News 1st): A false message fraudulently quoting Shakthi TV is currently making the rounds on WhatsApp and via SMS, seeking to cause a panic regarding the recent spate of ATM scams. News 1st strongly emphasizes, that our sister channel, Shakti TV, did not publish such content or send such news alerts, including the names of banking institutions. The publishing of such misleading content by those hiding behind the veil of anonymity is a serious social issue, and News 1st, on a number of occasions has highlighted, that such anonymous propaganda, serves to aggravate social issues in Sri Lanka. A most recent example of the damaging impact that such false, malicious and misleading content can have, is the violence that gripped Digana in Kandy for over a week. Following this event, Facebook implemented a number of measures, to restrict the transfer of information between private accounts. At present WhatsApp, a Facebook subsidiary has also taken steps to restrict the number of messages that can be forwarded by a single user. However, the publishing of false information from behind the cloak of anonymity continues seemingly unabated. Do you recall the recent behaviour of a group of masked individuals opposite several media organizations? Is it not possible that those who cower in fear of true information being given to the public, are also behind the faceless, nameless entities that are spreading fake news? The entire country is aware of the ownership of all registered print and electronic media organizations in the country. This information is in the public domain and is freely accessible. As such, they willingly take on the responsibility of standing by their stances. Politicians from the governing and opposition parties steer social media accounts which publish content favourable to them. In the very near future, the people will make a decision regarding such individuals who spite the people with NGO funding and the social media accounts they control.