5G vs holy tree: fake news in Sri Lanka

In Sri Lanka, people are worried about the Sri Maha Bodhi tree. It's important to Buddhists. They believe it's a holy tree. Some say 5G's hurting it. It's making the leaves black. The tree could lose all its leaves. It could die.

People shared memes on Facebook and WhatsApp. A TV presenter talked about it on YouTube too.

The tree's next to a temple. Head monk Pallegama Hemarathana lives there. He wants the president's help.

Pallegama Hemarathana: "I told the president that there is a problem like this. It would be prudent to get the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission and botanists from the Peradeniya University to study this and inform the public because they are very concerned."

The president sent experts to help. The experts searched the area. The 5G radiation wasn't the problem. There was no 5G near the temple. It was fake news.

But, the experts gave some advice. Visitors can't use mobile phones near the tree. This is an old rule. But, people didn't follow it. Now, the head monk will be strict. There's strict security in the area.

The tree's 2,300 years old. The head monk wants it to be safe.

Pallegama Hemarathana: "We never take any decision that will cause harm to the Bodhi tree. Our duty is to protect it." Weniger anzeigen