Public panic, mass displacement and criminal culpability

WHEN Cyclone Ditwah hit Sri Lanka, people were caught unawares.

- By Divya THOTAWATTE

Warnings were woefully inadequate or entirely missing, depending on where and in which language one received information. The resulting uncertainty triggered panic, fuelling a quick surge of alarmist misinformation.Each call required operators to calm panic and verify falsehoods, taking up time that could have been utilised to guide people atrisk.

Cyclone Ditwah first hit Sri Lanka’s Eastern coast on 28 November, bringing heavy rainfall, flooding, and landslides across several districts, displacing over 233,000 during the peak of the emergency, according to the United Nations (UN) Sri Lanka.

Fact-checkers and disinformation researchers monitoring online content during the cyclone noted the majority of false claims centered around floods and landslides. They noted that old videos, including floods in Indonesia, Nicaragua and India, were reshared and falsely presented as footage from Cyclone Ditwah-affected areas in Sri Lanka.

“Initially, there were many content claims on the potential damage, especially about the bridges and some dams being breached,” Fact Crescendo’s Research Consultant Prabuddha Athukorala said. “Most of this content was shared in panic and often in good faith. None of the dams were breached, and many of the claims were effectively debunked.”

Among the most visibly damaging was the false news that the Kotmale dam had breached on 30 November. Posts went viral on November 30, luring hundreds of residents out of their homes in fear.

Usitha Thisum Ilangakoon (21) from Pupuressa in Gampola recalled being jolted awake around midnight. “My grandfather came shouting that the dam was cracking,” he said. “We got up and ran straight out onto the road. Everyone in our lane was already outside.”