Deepanjalie Abeywardana is the Deputy Director at Verité Research and Head of its Media and Politics division. Her research focuses on the Sri Lankan media’s impact on democracy, with a particular emphasis on media ethics, ownership structures, and media behavious.

She has led numerous research initiatives and collaborations with local and international stakeholders to analyse the country’s media landscape. She also develops and delivers ethics training for working journalists.

Her recent publications include “Impeding Information Disorder in Sri Lanka: A View from the Experience of FactCheck.lk,” “Muslims and Market Monopolies: Unpacking a Prejudice,” and the co-authored “Analysing the Aragalaya: Through the Lens of the Mainstream Media.”

Ms. Abeywardana was awarded an MSc with Distinction in Media, Communications, and International Journalism from the University of Glasgow, where she was a Chevening Scholar. She also earned a Master’s degree with First Class Honours in South Asian Studies from Pondicherry University, where she was selected as one of the first two Sri Lankans to receive the prestigious Madanjeet Singh Scholarship. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in International Relations from the University of Colombo.