Colombo (News 1st): Of late, several unscrupulous social media postings falsely depicting Shakthi News presenters and anchors have been circulating amongst a select few individuals. These attempts to mislead the public and damage News 1st on Shakthi by spreading fake news appear to be perpetrated by a few individuals who quite possibly, are sponsored by those responsible for the carnage caused in Sri Lanka a few weeks ago. Serious allegations of political connivance by certain politicians have been widely levelled by the media. It could be that these politicians are now using their social media networks to muddy the water by sowing dissent and misinformation. Aren't those who spread false news, also carrying out the instructions and vision of the same group of people who carried out the attack on the 21st of April? Are they not attempting to mislead the Muslim community of Sri Lanka, many of whom are ardent viewers of News 1st 's Tamil News broadcast? Are they not attempting to brainwash and challenge the liberal thinking Muslims with their own perverse version of extremist ideologies? News 1st has been, and will continue, to report accurate and verified news using its many decades of solid experience. Audio clips and video footage, that contain inaccurate and unverified material that could incite disharmony among the masses are being shared on social media. In this process, visuals have been illegally obtained from our live broadcast and edited using a different audio file containing false information. In other instances visuals from international media have been obtained and been edited using audio files that contain false news, thereby attempting to incite racism and obtain short term benefits at the expense of the general public. In a situation where the general public should be made aware of the situation of the country as it is, without understatements or exaggerations, it is questionable as to who provides support and cooperation to the perpetrators of these heinous acts of spreading rumours, false news and material that would create disharmony among the general public. The perpetrators who are concealing themselves behind the veil of social media, and are carrying out these shameful acts should and will be brought before the law. We would like to reiterate that the genuine and original News 1st broadcasts can be viewed and accessed on our official media platforms as well as on our verified digital media platforms. We stand for the people's right to know and we stand for the accuracy of our news reports.

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