Mohamed Fairooz is a Sri Lankan journalist with more than 17 years of experience. He currently serves as Editor of Vidivelli, a national Tamil-language weekly newspaper. An alumnus of the Thomson Reuters Foundation and the Reham Al-Farra Journalism Fellowship, Fairooz hails from Batticaloa in Sri Lanka’s Eastern Province. In addition to his editorial role, he works as a fact-checker and media trainer, leading initiatives to counter disinformation and promote media literacy among Tamil-speaking communities and journalists.
In this interview, Fairooz reflects on his career, offering insights into how the journalistic landscape in Sri Lanka has evolved and the troubling decline of fact-checking infrastructure. He underscores the urgent need to strengthen ethical practices among the public, journalists, and media institutions alike to build a more responsible and inclusive media future in Sri Lanka.
Ammaarah Nilafdeen: You have juggled work between both the East Coast and the West Coast in Sri Lanka for many years now. What key differences do you see in the infrastructure and opportunities for reporting and journalists between these parts of the country?
Mohamed Fairooz: Colombo is a very urban and metropolitan area, while the East Coast is still largely rural, and many areas are still recovering from the effects of the civil war. Most major media institutions, whether it’s national newspapers, state-owned TV channels or private outlets, are based in Colombo. When it comes to Tamil media, the majority are Colombo- and Jaffna-based.
During the war, a few daily newspapers were published regionally for the East Coast, and after the tsunami in 2004, some NGOs helped support local media organizations and periodicals. However, international assistance was not adequate to meaningfully empower local media to sustain themselves. Those efforts have since slowly faded due to a lack of financial support from NGOs or media companies. Now, what we mostly see are websites and social media pages run by individuals.
Facebook has become a prominent platform for accessing information in the East, with TikTok also slowly gaining popularity. Local journalists are very active on social media, especially Facebook. In almost every rural area, you will find regional-level Facebook news pages. They post local news, district-level updates, and community events. It is a popular source of getting day-to-day information. But it is not organized. Most of them are run individually. One major reason for this disorganized structure is the digital divide. Connectivity in rural towns is very poor. You can’t get a stable internet connection in many areas. In Colombo, you have access to reliable internet. But in the East and specifically rural areas, it’s very difficult to run a proper media organization. There are no proper studios and no access to quality equipment. Many journalists can’t afford a camera. Most of them just use their mobile phones and report part-time.
There’s growing concern about this model. Many of these individuals aren’t professionally trained, and they often don’t fact-check what they post. Media literacy is very low in the East. This is true not only in rural communities, but also among educated people. People tend to believe whatever appears on social media without questioning it.
That being said, in many rural parts of the Eastern Province, radio and television still remain the most trusted and widely used medium.
AN: You mentioned that Facebook is a very popular platform on the East Coast. In Sri Lanka, social media has also played a role in fueling tensions and even riots between different ethno-religious groups in the past. How do you see the connection between social media and ethnic issues in the present day?
MF: In my opinion, if you look at Sri Lanka’s ethnic conflict that lasted three decades and the tensions that have emerged in the post-war context, the media has played a major role in deepening divisions between different ethno-religious communities.
In the East, where Muslims and Tamils live side by side and have also had a difficult past, this media-driven polarization has created lasting misunderstandings between communities. Now, the situation has become even more dangerous because of the widespread use of social media. People are using platforms like Facebook and TikTok to spread hate and misinformation targeting other communities. A single false news item can escalate into serious ethnic tensions, and even violence in these areas. Information spreads quickly, and people react without verifying facts.
Another major issue is the role of political parties in the East. Many of them are ethnic parties. Muslim political parties rely on Muslim votes, and Tamil parties rely on Tamil votes. So, leading up to elections, these parties often spread false narratives on social media to stir up tensions between communities. This helps them secure ethnic-based voting blocs. For example, they create content to make sure Tamils won’t vote for Muslim candidates and vice-versa. We even observed this during the recent general elections; social media was heavily used to spread propaganda, and false narratives played a key role in influencing voter behavior.
AN: Given social media’s influence on community relations and its role in political misinformation, what fact-checking measures are in place to counter this? Earlier this year, Facebook removed its third-party fact-checking feature in the United States. If a similar change were introduced in Sri Lanka, would it have a noticeable impact in this context?
MF: At the regional level, there is almost no proper monitoring in place. Most fact-checking organizations are based in Colombo and primarily focus on viral national-level stories. Because of poor connectivity in rural areas, regional misinformation doesn’t reach these organizations in time to be cross-checked. This is especially true for false content in the Tamil language. There are very few Tamil-speaking fact-checkers, and most fact-checking teams are Sinhala-speaking. As a result, a lot of Tamil content spreads unchecked simply because there’s no one to monitor or verify it.
Another major issue is the time lag. False information can go viral within minutes, but the fact-check often arrives two or three days later. By then, the damage is already done. Unfortunately, fact-checked corrections rarely go viral, and people are far less likely to share the correction than the original false claim. So, even when fact-checking does happen, it doesn’t have the same impact.
The potential removal of Facebook’s third-party fact-checking program would definitely be a loss for us. In 2020, during the general elections, a false news item was circulated using my newspaper’s logo and branding. At the time, one of Facebook’s third-party fact-checkers investigated it, published a clarification, and Facebook flagged the post as false. That action helped inform the public, and people knew the story wasn’t credible. But if Facebook discontinues that service in the future, there’s no clear or effective mechanism to prevent these kinds of false narratives from spreading.
This kind of a setback is particularly concerning because Sri Lanka already lacks the infrastructure for organized and rapid-response fact-checking, especially in regional areas where the need is greatest. Most misinformation here spreads in local languages, and without a reliable system for detecting and addressing that content, platforms like Facebook can’t be trusted to catch it on their own. They simply don’t have the language capabilities or technical tools to flag local-language misinformation effectively.
AN: Continued surveillance is often cited as a major issue for journalists, especially in the Northern and Eastern Provinces of Sri Lanka. What is the status of state surveillance now around the East Coast?
MF: Surveillance is definitely still present in the East. Compared to Colombo, where journalists can generally work more freely under national, well-established media organizations, working independently in the East is far more difficult. Journalists reporting from the Eastern Province often work under challenging conditions. They sometimes receive inquiries from intelligence officers about their activities, including where they’ve been, what was discussed at events, and who was present. They sometimes get questioned about their Facebook posts as well.
Journalists covering sensitive issues, such as land disputes involving Buddhist monks and minority communities, can face various forms of pressure. Tamil journalists, in particular, often feel this pressure more acutely. Local political figures may also attempt to influence coverage; when reports are seen as critical or unfavourable, journalists might receive direct or indirect threats.
In addition to political interference, paramilitary groups—some of which now function as political parties—have contributed to a sense of unease. As a result, some journalists choose to self-censor, avoiding topics they perceive as too risky.
There is a long-standing concern about the safety of journalists in Sri Lanka, given the history of violence and intimidation that has often gone uninvestigated. The lack of justice in those cases has weakened trust in the judicial system. Despite promises by successive governments to protect press freedom, meaningful safeguards are still lacking. Lack of legal support is another issue. Many journalists in the East have little to no access to legal assistance if issues arise.
Journalists also face pressure from other sources. While direct attacks may be less frequent, smear campaigns and targeted social media posts are common. Politicians and, in some instances, religious leaders have publicly criticized or attempted to intimidate journalists through online platforms. There have even been cases where videos were shared online threatening journalists not to report on particular stories.
While it’s true that the environment has improved in some ways compared to the past, especially in terms of reduced physical violence, the risk of surveillance, pressure, and intimidation still persists. For many journalists in the East, these are concerns they must continually be mindful of as they go about their work.
AN: You’ve been working as a media trainer for years with both national and international organizations to promote ethical journalism and embed strong practices in the field. How is that work going? Is it having an impact, and what are some of the challenges to continuing this work at the ground level?
MF: There were previously many NGOs actively involved in media training across Sri Lanka, including at the regional level. Even until recently, there were several ongoing training programs. These programs helped build strong momentum and interest in supporting regional journalists and strengthening local journalism.
However, with recent changes in the global funding landscape, regional media training has been severely impacted. Many of the initiatives supported by international and national organizations have either slowed down or stopped entirely. Now, regional journalists are worried because the few training opportunities that existed have almost disappeared.
This lack of resources is made worse by other barriers, especially language. There are very few Tamil-speaking media trainers in the country, which is a big gap. While there are many trainers in Sinhala and English, access to Tamil-language training remains extremely limited. Most training materials and online courses are also in English, making it difficult for local journalists to access them—and especially those working in rural areas in order to fully engage or learn. So, while there is interest and need, language and access continue to be major obstacles to building a more inclusive and well-trained journalism workforce in Sri Lanka.
AN: There’s an ongoing debate in Sri Lanka around media ethics and regulation. Some advocate for a stronger legal framework, while others emphasize the importance of protecting media pluralism. In your view, what is actually needed to ensure responsible and ethical reporting in Sri Lanka?
MF: Sri Lanka already has many laws and regulations related to media, but the real issue is the selective enforcement of these laws. Instruments like the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR Act) and the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) have historically been applied unevenly and have often targeted minority communities or those without political power. For example, in 2021, the PTA was used against two YouTubers from the North, including a female journalist.
So, whenever there is talk about introducing new media regulations, my concern is not just about the law itself, but who will enforce it, and against whom. That fear is very real, especially for journalists like us who are working in the North and East. We have lived through a period of history where journalists were harassed and attacked, with very few cases ever leading to justice. This has created an atmosphere of fear and distrust, especially among regional journalists.
More recently, the Online Safety Act, enacted under the previous government, has caused concerns about the erosion of freedom of expression. Although the law was introduced as a measure to combat online scams and fraud, there is a well-founded fear that it could be misused to target journalists and media organizations.
Media organizations at the national level must also take greater responsibility. There have been instances in the past where some prominent outlets have spread misinformation. These organizations need to invest in fact-checking by creating dedicated fact-checking units within their organizations. Even experienced national journalists sometimes publish misleading stories, so having a decentralized, internal mechanism to verify information before publishing would benefit not just the media houses to be more trustworthy institutions but also the public.
In my opinion, the real solution lies in education, media literacy, and self-regulation. Journalists and the public alike need to understand how to engage with media responsibly and how to avoid spreading harmful or false content. We need to build a culture where self-regulation is the norm, where ethical practices are internalized rather than imposed.
Another often-overlooked aspect is the role of diaspora-run media. In the Northern Province, for example, many media outlets, such as newspapers, TV channels and e-papers are broadcast from Jaffna to Europe, targeting both diaspora communities and people in the Northern and Eastern provinces. These outlets are well-equipped and influential, but they, too, should prioritize fact-checking and responsible reporting to help minimize communal tensions.Ultimately, fact-checking must be normalized and mainstreamed as a social responsibility. If we want to reduce the harmful effects of misinformation, we need systemic investment in ethics, education, and localized fact-checking efforts—not just new laws. All of this will definitely take time to achieve and will not happen overnight, but it is more sustainable in the long-term than chasing short-term interventions.