It was actually taken from a YouTube interview in April -- months before the storm hit -- and shows him slamming the authorities for mismanaging a religious event, where four people died while waiting in lengthy queues to see a Buddhist relic.

Social media users have shared a clip of former president Ranil Wickremesinghe with a false claim it showed him criticising President Anura Kumara Dissanayake over the government's handling of the disaster.

The video was in fact filmed in Nicaragua and has circulated in reports since May 2023.

ආපදා කළමනාකරණ මධ්‍යස්ථානය සහ දිස්ත්‍රික් ලේකම් කාර්යාල ,ප්‍රාදේශීය ලේකම් කාර්යාල දිගින් දිගටම ඉවත් වන ලෙස දැන්වුවද ජනතාව ඇතැම් අනතුරුදායක ස්ථානවලින් ඉවත් නොවන බව වාර්තා වී ඇති බවත් එම නිසා උපදෙස් පිළිපදිමින් අනතුරුදායක ස්ථානවලින් වහාම ඉවත්වන ලෙස රජය මහජනතාවගෙන් ඉල්ලා සිටියි.

The footage has circulated in news reports since 2016 and the Sri Lankan police said they have not received any information about his return as of November 4, 2025.

Mulaffer was given a position that handles broader religious and cultural matters, and the portfolio for Buddhist affairs belongs to another deputy minister.

But a widely shared image of the two supposedly shaking hands is digitally manipulated from a genuine photo of Dissanayake with Trump's special envoy for South and Central Asia.