Invisible Trends: Monitoring Electoral Violations & Online Harms on WhatsApp through Grassroots Observation

Sri Lanka’s Local Government elections in May 2025 were held after years of delay caused by political and economic turmoil. In this context, Muragala | CPPP monitored how WhatsApp — Sri Lanka’s most widely used social media platform — was exploited to circulate electoral violations across closed, private networks. This report presents findings based on data collected by 30 grassroots activists from across the country. The study was conducted as part of the Strengthening Resilience Against Disinformation in Sri Lanka project, implemented in partnership with DRI and Factum, and co-funded by the European Union.