Harnessing Sri Lanka’s #metoo Moment into a Movement
A few weeks ago Sri Lanka’s own #metoo movement came out in strong condemnation of incidents of sexual harassment that came to light as a number of professionals began to speak out.…
Media and Communications
‘Fake News’: Rethinking the Classification
In Sri Lanka, the government recently announced that it would consider enacting laws against the spread of fake and misleading assertions on social media. In light of this development, a public conversation…
Criminalising Disinformation: Neither the Time nor the Place
A public conversation on criminalising disinformation has re-emerged in Sri Lanka. The government recently announced that it was considering new proposals for a law to curb false and misleading statements. This conversation…
Freedom of Expression: Where Do We Stand?
theme “Information as a Public Good” On April 30, when the Indian Supreme Court was hearing a case which it had initiated by itself (Suo Motto) to examine issues relating to the…
Plagiarism: A Plague or the New Normal?
While Sri Lankans are famous for defending their property rights when it comes to land ownership and title deeds, intellectual property is not exactly sacrosanct. From Aishwarya Rai “endorsing” beauty parlours to…
A Crisis in Communications
2020 has been defined by COVID-19; a year in which citizens, governments and medical first-responders found themselves in a whirlwind of unprecedented pandemonium. Adding to the confusion have been patterns of broken…
Ramzy Razeek: An extraordinary struggle for an ordinary life of service upended by an arrest
Image courtesy Ramzy Razik was arrested on April 9, 2020 at his home off Katugasota in Kandy by the CID. The next day, he was produced before the Colombo Magistrate where the…
Freedom of Expression vs. Hate Speech, Fake and Misleading News
Today, 3rd May, is World Press Freedom Day. It is a good day to assess state of Freedom of Expression, and we will focus on importance of ensuring freedom of expression while…
Ekneligoda disappearance – 10 years struggle for truth and justice
Photo by Ishara S.KODIKARA/AFP via Today, 10th January 2020, is 10 years since the disappearance of journalist and cartoonist Prageeth Ekneligoda. It also marks 10 years of struggle for truth and justice…
New Co-Editor
is pleased to welcome Minoli Wijetunge as the platform’s new co-editor. Minoli is an academic, trainer and researcher. Her studies primarily focused on education and its many intersections such as gender and…
Opinions, B*tch: Technology Based Violence Against Women in Sri Lanka
Although there is growing awareness of the impact on technology-based violence globally, there is little research on the different ways it can manifest. This report looks at how women are discussed on…
Explaining Sri Lanka’s New Emergency Regulations on ‘Publication’
Sri Lanka’s president issued a new set of Emergency Regulations on 22 April 2019. This note explains the contents of Emergency Regulation 15, which concerns the ‘control of publications’, and certain other…
Challenging a Culture of Secrecy
While the Sri Lankan State maintains a culture of secrecy cemented through legislation like the Official Secrets Act, the Right to Information Act, operationalised in early 2017, is now used by citizens,…
Gramasevakata Pissu: Political censorship and popular culture
– J.M. Coetzee , seated at the foot of my father’s easy-chair, not understanding (as a nine, ten, eleven-year-old) the incisive commentary the show was making. Soon enough as a teen, I…
Reporting on identity in the Sri Lankan media: Ethics and errors
It is not uncommon to read headlines of this nature in Sri Lankan print media, with perpetrators of a crime or their suspects being identified by race. In Sinhala, Tamil and English…