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‘Vas kavi’ are curse verses, a long-standing Sinhala folk tradition in which rhymed stanzas are composed to call down misfortune on a person seen as having done wrong and historically recited or written out at places such as devalas to invoke divine punishment. This form has found a new life on social media. Over recent weeks, posts, and videos written as ‘vas kavi’ have been used to vent anger at rulers and public figures over the country’s economic, political, and social troubles. Into that mood dropped a post claiming the Police Media Spokesperson had announced that everyone who shares ‘vas kavi’ online would be punished under the law, and that the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) was moving to arrest the monk who composed the verse.
Here are the posts that carried the claim, and what we found when we checked.
Social Media Posts:
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Claim under review: We checked whether the Police Media Spokesperson said that people who share ‘vas kavi’ on social media would be punished under the law and that the CID was moving to arrest the monk who composed the verse, and whether any such action was being taken.
Fact Check:
A recording identified as a ‘vas kavi,’ voicing discontent over the current controversies involving Buddhist monks and over recent political decisions, was posted to social media in recent days. Framed as a protest against those in power, it spread quickly on Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube. Who composed the verse, or who was behind its production, has not been clearly identified. The post we examined began circulating against that backdrop.
Had the Police Media Spokesperson announced legal action against the author of the verse or against those sharing it, Sri Lanka Police, the mainstream media, and other official sources would have reported it. We checked whether Police Media Spokesperson Frederick U. Wootler had made such a statement and whether any mainstream outlet had reported one. No outlet had. We also went through the Spokesperson’s recent statements and found nothing of the kind. Nor was there any official or media report of the CID acting against the people involved.
Police Media Spokesperson Frederick U. Wootler Denied Making the Statement
We contacted Police Media Spokesperson Frederick U. Wootler. He told us he had at no point said that legal action would be taken against people who share ‘vas kavi’ on social media, or that the CID was moving to arrest those who composed the verse. He also confirmed that neither the Police nor the CID had any plans to take legal action against those parties in the manner the post described.
Journalists also raised the matter at the Cabinet decisions media briefing on October 20.
The Spokesperson Has Warned of Legal Action Only Over False Information
What the Police Media Spokesperson did say recently was that legal action would be taken against people who spread false information on social media.
He repeated the warning when he dismissed posts that described a fall suffered by Ven. Balangoda Kassapa Thero as an assault. The monk had slipped and fallen while among the monks gathered at Vihara Maha Devi Park demanding the release of Ven. Gnanasara Thero. The Spokesperson said the law would be strictly enforced against those who spread false information on social media to provoke the public and stir unrest.
SJB MP Nalin Bandara Claimed the Government Was Hunting the Author
Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Nalin Bandara told Parliament on October 20 that the government had panicked over a ‘vas kavi’ that was causing a stir on social media and had launched investigations to find the person who wrote it. That was a political claim made in the House; it is not evidence that the Police Spokesperson announced any such action.
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Conclusion:
Posts claiming that the Police Media Spokesperson announced that everyone who shares ‘vas kavi’ on social media would be punished under the law, and that the CID was moving to arrest the monk who composed the verse, are completely false. Police Media Spokesperson Frederick U. Wootler confirmed to Fact Crescendo that he made no such statement and that no such arrests are planned.
What the Spokesperson has said is that legal action will be taken against people who spread false information on social media in ways that provokes the public. That is a different matter from sharing a curse verse.
