Newchecker.in is an independent fact-checking initiative of NC Media Networks Pvt. Ltd. We welcome our readers to send us claims to fact check. If you believe a story or statement deserves a fact check, or an error has been made with a published fact check
Contact Us: [email protected]
Fact Check
Claim: Social media posts claiming to share video evidence that Dan Priyasad, a political activist from Colombo who was shot at recently, is still alive.
Fact: The viral video is old and was posted by Priyasad on his social media accounts on January 30, 2025, in response to the then rumours about his death.
Several posts on TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook, are sharing a video, purportedly showing Dan Priyasad, a political activist from the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna who was shot at recently, mocking those who celebrated his “death”. The claims insinuate that Priyasad is still alive, despite multiple news outlets reporting on his death and funeral on April 24, 2025, stating that he was shot multiple times in the chest and shoulders by two assailants on April 22 before succumbing to his injuries in hospital.
In one TikTok post, the superimposed text on the video read, “Dan, upon waking up from the dead.” Priyasad appears to sarcastically congratulate people who celebrated his death, while repeating a local Buddhist saying, which means, “May I attain the supreme bliss of Nirvana!”
More claims can be found on YouTube and Facebook, here and here.
In early April, Priyasad had announced his candidacy for the upcoming local government elections in the Kolonnawa division under the SLPP. The Newschecker team decided to look into this claim due to his connection with the upcoming elections.
We first checked a few keyframes from the video via a reverse image search, and came across this video posted by Priyasad on his official TikTok account. This was first uploaded on January 30, 2025, after there were widespread rumours about his death on social media, beginning January 29. Certain posts looked like this.
It is clear that in this video, Priyasad was responding to the rumours in January, while clarifying that they were false.
However, on April 22, he was shot in Wellampitiya, near Kolonnawa, and this has been confirmed by the police as well as mainstream media. Initially, the Sri Lanka police mistakenly announced that he was dead while he was in the Intensive Care Unit of a hospital. This article, for example, issued a correction:
“CORRECTION: The Police Media Spokesman had previously claimed that Dan Priyasad succumbed to his injuries following hospitalization. However, the Police Spokesman now says that he is in critical condition but is not dead.”
However, the Sri Lanka police later announced on April 24 that he had indeed passed away after succumbing to his injuries.
Another news report can be found here.
Footage of his funeral was also released to the public in the above news items.
Moreover, on April 25, the police released a statement that the main suspect in Priyasad’s murder has been arrested for questioning, further confirming the viral claim to be false.
Social media posts using a video of Dan Priyasad talking about his death, afterlife, and Nirvana, to claim that he is not dead following the April 22 shooting, was actually found to be from January 2025.
Our sources
TikTok post by Dan Priyasad, posted on January 30, 2025
‘Dan Priyasad injured in shooting’, published in Ada Derana LK, April 22, 2025
‘Cops make U-Turn on Dan Priyasad – First dead, now alive’, published in Daily Mirror Online, April 22, 2025
‘Dan Priyasad Dead in Apartment Shooting | Breakfast Rundown with Therunee Karunaratne’, posted on the YouTube channel of NewsFirst Sri Lanka, April 23, 2025
‘Sinhala extremist Dan Priyasad shot dead in Colombo’, published in Tamil Guardian, April 24, 2025
‘Police claim main suspect in Priyasad killing arrested’, published in The Island LK, April 25, 2025
If you would like us to fact-check a claim, give feedback or lodge a complaint, email us at [email protected]. You can also visit the Contact Us page and fill out the form.
False
