Rukshan Fernando

Rukshan Fernando (born 1985 (age 36)), also known as Real Rukshan, is a Sri Lankan-Australian videographer and wedding photographer known for his favourable coverage of the anti-vaccine and anti-lockdown movement in Australia.

Early life
Fernando was born to a Labor-voting Sri Lankan migrant couple. He went to school at Dandenong, Victoria and studied law at Victoria University.

Career
Fernando co-founded Ferndara, a wedding photography business based in Melbourne. As of 2014, Fernando and his team have travelled to Sri Lanka to film weddings.

In 2020, Fernando became known for creating memes mocking Premier Dan Andrews. He provided live coverage of the anti-lockdown protests in Melbourne; he said that he did not endorse the views of the protestors. He has been viewed as a hero by supporters of Melbourne's anti-vaccine and anti-lockdown protests.

The Daily Telegraph and the Herald Sun listed Fernando among the top 100 superspreaders of misinformation.

In 2022, Fernando travelled to New Zealand with far-right activist Avi Yemini. Yemini was refused entry to New Zealand on character grounds. However, Fernando was allowed into New Zealand, and filmed a glowing tribute to an anti-government rally led by COVID-19 conspiracy theorist Chantelle Baker.

Views
Fernando supports former U.S. president Donald Trump and his false claim that the 2020 U.S. election was stolen. He is a fan of American right-wing conspiracy theorists Mike Cernovich, Jack Posobiec and Andy Ngo.

Fernando is a climate change denier. In 2019, he promoted a conspiracy theory that U.S. politician Ilhan Omar had married her brother.

Fernando said that he supported Dan Andrews when the first lockdown began in March 2020. Later that year, he said in an interview with Fox News personality Laura Ingraham that Victoria was becoming like "Communist China".

Personal life
Fernando lives in Melbourne's south-east.