An image of a News 1st Sinhala news card carrying a divisive statement attributed to the President is circulating widely on Facebook. The graphic includes Sinhala text claiming: “මේ ආණ්ඩුව හැදුවේ, මේ ආණ්ඩුව රකින්නේ, උතුරේ ජනතාවයි කදුකරයේ ජනතාවයි” (“This government was formed and is sustained by the people of the North and the Hill Country.”).
The posts further claim that the President made this remark during the NPP May Day rally 2026 held on May 1.
Evidence
To verify the claim, we first conducted a keyword search, which did not yield any credible news reports carrying the claimed statement.
We also checked the official social media platforms of News 1st and found no record of the claimed quote. Instead, we identified the original news card published on the Newsfirst.lk Facebook page on May 1.
The original news card quotes the President as saying: “මේ ආණ්ඩුව හැදුවේ, මේ ආණ්ඩුව රකින්නේ, මේ ආණ්ඩුවට ජයග්රහණ ගෙනත් දෙන්නේ මේ රටේ ජනතාවයි” (“This government was built by, is protected by, and is led to victory by the people of this country.”).
This clearly differs from the viral claim and makes no reference to specific regions such as the North or Hill Country.
Additionally, the full speech uploaded on the official NPP Sri Lanka YouTube channel on May 1, 2026, confirms the accurate statement. The President does not single out any particular regional group in his remarks.
Verdict
The viral claim showing the President’s statement as “This government was formed and is sustained by the people of the North and the Hill Country” is false. The actual statement made by the President was “This government was built by, is protected by, and is led to victory by the people of this country.” The circulated News 1st news card has been altered and edited to misrepresent his remarks.
FAQs
Q1. What does the viral news card claim?
It claims the President said the government is formed and sustained specifically by people from the North and Hill Country.
Q2. Did the President make this statement?
No. The original statement refers broadly to all people of the country, not specific regions.
Q3. Was this published by News 1st?
No. The original News 1st post contains a different, accurate quote. The viral version is edited.
Our Sources
YouTube video published on the official NPP Sri Lanka channel on May 1, 2026.
Facebook post published on the official News 1st Facebook page on May 1, 2026.
