Angry Lankans vent their current frustrations via the President’s Facebook pages

Earlier this week, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s official Facebook page made changes to restrict the comments under each post, as thousands flocked to the page to ridicule the Government, while alleging that the President’s policy decisions had led to the current crisis

In recent months, social media platforms have become the main tool for the people, particularly the youth, to express their political opinions, frustrations and criticisms of the government.

Popular social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and TikTok are full of creative content ridiculing the Government for its inefficiencies, failure to ensure adequate essential supplies for the people and mismanaging the economy.

Earlier this week, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s official Facebook page made changes to restrict the comments under each post, as thousands flocked to the page to ridicule the Government, while alleging that the President’s policy decisions had led to the current crisis.

The comments urged the President to “just resign from office and go back to the

United States.”

Ahead of the media briefing organised by the President’s Media Division ( PMD) on Friday, in the aftermath of the Mirihana protest, angry social media users started dropping comments on the PMD’s Facebook page while the media briefing was being l ive streamed. The banner behind the briefing table had the words; ‘ The Truth’ in three languages under the state emblem.

Social media commentators even pooh- poohed the remarks made by the three ministers defending the Government’s action at the previous day’s protest outside the President’s Mirihana residence.