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🇱🇰 Lankadeepa

Sri Lanka · SI · https://www.lankadeepa.lk

About Lankadeepa

Major Daily Center RightMedium credibility

Lankadeepa is owned by Wijeya Newspapers Limited (WNL), a private media conglomerate founded in 1979 by Ranjith Wijewardene. The Wijewardene family maintains majority ownership, controlling over 99% of the company's shares. The family has historical connections to Sri Lanka's United National Party (UNP), and Ruwan Wijewardene, a UNP Deputy Leader, is also an owner of WNL publications.

Lankadeepa has faced allegations of exhibiting a pro-Sinhala nationalist bias, particularly in its coverage of ethnic conflicts and inter-community tensions, and has been observed to engage in ethnic stereotyping. The outlet has also been criticized for instances of inaccurate reporting and its alignment with opposition politics. Sri Lanka's media landscape is characterized by concentrated ownership, with the Wijewardene family reaching almost half of all print readers, and political affiliations significantly influencing editorial stances. Despite these criticisms, in some instances, Lankadeepa has reported on sensitive issues without highlighting ethnicity, unlike some other Sinhala newspapers.

Reading context

Outlets in Sri Lanka often work under tighter political or legal limits than in countries ranked as fully free for press. We keep each headline's original tone on purpose, so you can see how stories are usually framed for domestic readers.