Vijitha Herath AI image incident — Oct 2026
A viral AI-generated image falsely depicted Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath meeting with Donald Trump during the 81st UN General Assembly
- Reported date
- Oct 5, 2026
- Target
- Vijitha Herath
The exact incident date was not established. This entry is dated by its source report.
A viral social media post recently circulated a fabricated image falsely claiming that Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath held a meeting with US President Donald Trump. The image surfaced following Herath's attendance at the 81st session of the UN General Assembly in New York, where he represented Sri Lanka.
What happened
Following the circulation of the image, fact-checkers investigated the claim by reviewing official government records, mainstream media reports, and statements from the Minister’s office. While both Herath and Trump were present at the 81st UN General Assembly session, no official or personal bilateral talks occurred between them. During his visit, Minister Herath held documented meetings with UN Secretary-General António Guterres, UN Under-Secretaries-General Jean-Pierre Lacroix and Atul Khare, and the foreign ministers of Iran, the UAE, and Nepal to discuss bilateral relations and international cooperation.
The Minister’s Media Secretary explicitly confirmed that the social media post was completely false and that no meeting of any kind had taken place. Further analysis of the viral photograph revealed that it appeared artificial and unnatural, leading to the conclusion that the image was created using artificial intelligence to deceive the public.