Social media breaks Sri Lanka’s silence on riots that killed 3 muslims

Alutgama, (Sri Lanka): Sri Lanka slapped an indefinite curfew in a popular tourist region on Monday after rioting Buddhist mobs killed three Muslims in a surge of religious violence that triggered international concern.

However, there was little to no mention of the incident in Sri Lanka’s mainstream media. “During the violence, there was radio silence across all mainstream media, with some reports suggesting communications (telephone) services were also disrupted or cut off to the affected areas” read an entry on Groundviews, an award winning alternative citizens journalism site based in Colombo.

The government owned Daily News chose to focus on President Mahinda Rajapaksa's speech at the G77 summit currently underway in Bolivia and political opposition to a UN backed probe into war crimes allegations against the Sri Lankan government. Sri Lanka's English newspaper with the largest circulation, The Daily Mirror, chose to focus on a drugs bust.

Groundviews carried screenshots of Sri Lanka’s major mainstream publications during the height of the violence, proving that they showed little to no mention of the unfolding violence, a pattern also conspicuous in the newspaper headlines. Social media and international media filled the gap created by the silence of the local press.