Sri Lankan Facebook users have recirculated an old photo of a corroded water pipe in Thailand, alongside the false claim that it was taken on the island. The image was first shared online by Thai users in 2016 who complained about the condition of the kingdom’s water pipes – which Thai authorities say have since been replaced.
“To know the real condition of a water pipe in Sri Lanka, it must be broken. You need to know it better. However, it is good to boil water before drinking it,” said the Sinhalese Facebook caption next to the photo shared on June 19, 2024.
A similar claim was shared here He then falsely suggested that the condition of the pipe was revealed after it was struck with a car in a town on the outskirts of Sri Lanka’s capital, Colombo, on June 17 (archived link).
“This is the water pipe that was broken by the car. Look at the water pipe that people say is clean,” the message said.
Similar false claims were made here And here.
Some users seemed to believe that the image really shows a water pipe in Sri Lanka.
“What is the dirt in this country? When people see this they say no to water,” one user commented.
“We also have these kinds of pipes in our region,” said another.
The false messages circulated online in the financially strapped island nation, which raised water rates in late 2023 following an unprecedented economic crisis as the country ran out of foreign currency to pay for imports.
AFP reported on June 25, 2024 that the South Asian country had reached long-delayed debt deals with its bilateral lenders, including China, to meet a key condition of an IMF bailout, the government said.
Hookah in Thailand
Sri Lanka’s National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB) said this in a statement Facebook response left in one of the false posts that the claim was “fake news” (archived link).
A reverse image search revealed that the photo was originally published in 2016 here (archived link).
It was installed by residents of a community on the outskirts of the Thai capital Bangkok to highlight the poor condition of a local water pipe.
Thai Metropolitan Waterworks Authority (MWA) responded on Facebook to the complaints in 2017, in which the image was included in the false messages (archived link).
Below is a screenshot comparison of the fake message (left) and the MWA message (right):
MWA’s post said the pipe pictured has not been used since April 2016, when it was removed from Lat Krabang, an eastern suburb of Bangkok.
It was further said that the yellowish substance in the pipe had accumulated over time due to particles found in the water, and that the water flowing through it was of good quality because the deposit did not mix with water.