Sri Lanka Social Media Weekly News Update

Sri Lanka Weekly Social Media News Update 03/06/2017

Here’s our latest review of the viral and trending topics that caught the most attention on social media in Sri Lanka and across the world

What Went Viral in Sri Lanka?

  • Dengue reaches epidemic levels, government unable to control the issue

The parliament session recently took on a heated nature when Anura Kumara Dissananyake questioned what the government has been doing until 168 people died and 65,000 contracted the virus. There are specialists being sent to Australia in the hopes of finding a counter bacteria that can destroy dengue. The disease is causing chaos in Sri Lanka with even hospitals struggling to find resources and bed space for the huge influx of afflicted patients.

  • The Sri Lankan cricket team defeated by Zimbabwe

According to commentators, the fielding that was shown by the Sri Lankan cricket team during the tournament that was recently played was inadequate. Lasith Malinga missing a potential wicket was highlighted. The Zimbabwe cricket team managed to defeat Sri Lanka in the very first match that was held in the tournament. The news sparked debate among the viewers especially because it has only been recently that Minister Dayasiri Jayasekara accused the team of not being physically fit and attributed that to the defeats the team has faced. Many viewers also interestingly stated that the defeats happen because of the lack of planning and ethics in the cricket council and that even though many blamed Malinga for losing the wicket, it was not the cause of this loss.

This Week’s International Hubbub

  • Viral news about Irza Khan dying circulated on social media

A Pakistani TV anchor, was seen falling from a crane while she was live. The news soon started spreading that Irza Khan was dead. However, tweeting recently, the anchor stated that the news of her death was fake and that while she did fall off the crane she survived with injuries. The incident is a good example of how fast and easily fake news can spread because users would not fact check before sharing on social media.

  • Videos of Indian army torturing Kashmiris go viral on social media

The video of the Indian Army torturing a Kashmiri boy inside a vehicle and asking him to chant “Long Live India” and Down with Pakistan” under the threat of adding his name to the list of militants and killing him on a fake encounter has gone viral on Facebook. The Indian Army soldiers also say how easy it is to carry out a fake encounter and add a name to the militant list. The video comes as the latest in the long and bloodied history of Kashmir that never really seems to be able to feel at peace.

  • Social media users capture dramatic sinking of packed Colombian boat

The video of a Colombian tour boat capsizing with passengers on board went viral on Facebook last week. According to reports at least seven people are feared dead with two missing.

Stats of the Week

Ape Rata has ranked once more among the top five fastest growing media Facebook pages. However, since our last update on the page, it does not seem like the Youtube and Facebook relationship has improved.

Ape Rata YouTube Channel statistics are as follows:

Total Subscribers -290
Total Videos -133
Total views -264,454

Sri Lanka Social Media Weekly News Update

Ranjan Ramanayake is a political personality in Sri Lanka who has remained in the headlines for his forthright way of handling certain issues. This has given his Facebook page a good social media following. However, it does not seem like the politician has related his YouTube channel with the same.

Ranjan Ramanayake YouTube Channel statistics are as follows:

Total Subscribers -0
Total Videos -19
Total views -1,480

Sri Lanka Weekly Social Media News Update

Things you should know

  • Facebook Updates News Feed to Reduce Spam and Fake News

Facebook has been under scrutiny a ot recently for the spread of fake news and the social media giant has pledged to combat this issue. As their most recent effort, they are yet again improving the algorithms that will monitor spamming posts. According to Facebook, they have observed that there is a tiny group of users who routinely happen to share posts without credibility and spam the news feeds of other users.

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