Sri Lanka's Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) has rejected as false a social-media post claiming that prices of several dairy products have been increased.
The widely circulated post, presented as "breaking news", claimed increases affecting milk powder, cultured milk drinks, yoghurt and other dairy products.
The CAA urged consumers not to share such price information without first checking it against official or reliable sources.
What the viral post claimed
According to the CAA, the circulating post claimed that:
- a one-kilogram packet of milk powder had increased by Rs.260;
- a bottle of cultured milk drink had increased by Rs.40; and
- a yoghurt cup had increased by Rs.20.
The Consumer Affairs Authority said the information contained in the circulated post was false.
CAA urges consumers to verify information
The Authority warned the public against treating social-media material as genuine news merely because it is presented as a breaking-news alert.
Consumers were asked to verify reports about price changes through official or reliable sources before sharing them.
The CAA also encouraged the public to report suspicious price changes and other market irregularities through its consumer hotline.
Genuine and false price reports should be separated
The clarification comes shortly after genuine increases were announced in the price of wheat flour and certain flour-based foods.
Those confirmed changes should not be confused with the separate viral claims concerning dairy products that the CAA has rejected.
The verified fact in this article is that the CAA rejected the specific price-increase claims circulating on social media as false.