Has Viral Song 'Manike Mage Hithe' Been Removed From YouTube?

Facebook posts in Sri Lanka claim hit song "Manike Mage Hithe" by Yohani, which has racked up more than 160 million views on YouTube, has been removed from the platform. The posts are misleading; while the video was temporarily unavailable, it later reappeared online. The song's composer blamed the problem on a technical glitch.

"Manike Mage Hithe has been removed from YouTube," reads a Sinhala-language Facebook post from October 19.

The post shows a screenshot of a YouTube video of the track by Sri Lankan singer Yohani, with an error message reading "Video unavailable".

The same screenshot was shared in similar Facebook posts here and here.

However, the posts are misleading.

The song's music composer said the video was temporarily unavailable due to a technical glitch.

"For a brief moment, the visual was unavailable on YouTube due to a technical issue. But it has now been fixed and the song is back up and running," Chamath Sangeeth told AFP.

The video was available on YouTube on October 25.

Sinhala-language song "Manike Mage Hithe" went viral in India after it was released in May, and has garnered more than 160 million views on YouTube.

AFP contacted YouTube for comment but has not received a reply.

Misleading posts have previously circulated about Yohani, including that she was appointed cultural ambassador by the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by BOOM staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)