A doctored image appearing to show a man in a loincloth depicting the Sri Lankan national flag has surfaced in social media posts that appear to suggest he was disrespecting the country. The posts targeted activists who participated in anti-government protests in 2022. However, the original photo shows the man wearing a loincloth that does not feature the Sri Lankan flag. The filmmaker and activist in the picture told AFP his underwear had been fashioned out of a red scarf and not the country's flag.

Warning: This story contains strong language

The image was shared in a Facebook post on July 29 with a Sinhala-language caption reading "Disgusting".

Text overlaid on the image translates as: "I did not contribute to or support the Aragalaya that was instigated by bastards like this who made loincloths out of the Sri Lankan flag."

"Aragalaya", which means struggle, refers to the series of demonstrations against then-Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa that began in April 2022, when protesters demanded his resignation over the island's most painful economic downturn since independence in 1948.

The months-long movement culminated in thousands of people breaking into the presidential palace on July 9, 2022, forcing Rajapaksa to flee.

Screenshot of the lead post, taken August 16, 2023.

High-profile activists who took part in the protests have since been targeted with false claims -- AFP previously debunked false posts that alleged one of them had abandoned her infant on a train in Sri Lanka.

The doctored image was also shared alongside similar claims on Facebook here and here.

Some comments suggested that Facebook users believed the picture was genuine.

One user wrote: "These traitors should be burnt to death."

"JVP-ers. What more can you expect from them?" wrote another, in reference to supporters of Sri Lanka's communist-leaning Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna party (archived link).

Red scarf

A Google reverse image search found a similar photo posted to Facebook by Sri Lankan filmmaker and activist Sumudu Guruge on 24 May 2022 (archived link).

"This is all that was eventually left," the Sinhala-language post jokes.

Guruge can be seen standing in the same pose as in the image shared in false posts, but his loincloth does not show the Sri Lankan flag.

Below is a screenshot comparison of the doctored image (left) and the genuine photo posted by Guruge (right):

Screenshot comparison of the doctored image (left) and the genuine photo posted by Guruge (right)

Guruge confirmed on August 11 the photo had been doctored.

"I was wearing a loincloth that day but it is not the Sri Lankan flag, its a scarf," he told AFP.

He said the photo was taken in May 2022 when Sri Lankan activists displayed their underwear on barriers placed to prevent protesters from heading towards parliament -- "to make a statement and express our objection for depriving us of our right to protest".

The activist can also be seen wearing his red loincloth in a video report by local news organisation News First Sri Lanka posted on YouTube on May 6, 2022 (archived link).

The video is titled: "Underwear displayed in protest held to demand the President and the government to go home."

Guruge can be seen among other protesters holding up underwear at the 23-second mark of the video:

Screenshot of the News First clip that shows Guruge participating in the protest wearing a red loin cloth.