Daily Mirror newspaper and other local media in all three languages and international media said last week that princess Amira Bint Aidan Bin Nayaf has made the revelation in exclusive statements to the French newspaper Le Monde.

No such interview has taken place, Le Monde said, adding that Daily Mirror had taken the said article from Fort Russ, a Russian website.

Acclaimed by president

The Saudi princess has been acclaimed by president Maithripala Sirisena for providing relief to Sri Lankans affected by a cyclone in 2016 through a foundation led by her.

She also appears for women’s rights.

On the same day the Russian website published the article, the chairman of the foundation and 10 other princes were taken under house arrest by the Saudi government on corruption and fraud accusations.

Media ethics

Meanwhile, a local group monitoring media ethics violations in the country says the publication of this article has violated the principles of establishing the source for a news and correcting a mistake.

If no official source is available, more than one source should be used to verify the information, says Ethics Eye.

It criticizes the local media for not correcting the mistake, even after Le Monde refuted the interview.

It is not too late yet to rectify that mistake, it adds.