President hails social media role in his polls win

23 Nov, 2019

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa hailed the role played by social media in his Presidential election victory.

Social media was used to both promote Rajapaksa and often discredit his opponents during the campaign.

“I wish to convey my heartfelt gratitude to all the social media activists who supported directly and indirectly, with great commitment towards the victory of our nation and request your continued and active participation in building a prosperous country,” Rajapaksa said in a message today.

Local and foreign election observers had raised concerns over the misinformation that was spread on social media during the campaign period.

Facebook came under criticism over its failure to immediately take down posts which targeted some minority communities in an attempt to gather more Sinhalese majority votes for Rajapaksa. (Colombo Gazette)

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