Uvindu Sandakath Mahagamarachchi, better known as ‘Anarchysaurus’ on the internet, is a freelance digital artist and now-famous content creator on both TikTok and YouTube. Anarchysaurus’s claim to fame comes from quick informational videos that are sometimes hilarious and always entertaining. 

Anarchysaurus has experienced a meteoric rise on TikTok, gaining followers rapidly, and unsurprisingly, so has his content, which he describes to be ‘edutainment,’ appearing to have filled an existing gap in Sri Lankan TikTok content. While edutainment is nothing new to the platform, Sri Lanka is still figuring things out on how best to utilise TikTok’s untapped potential and Anarchysaurus appears to have ignited what might be a new genre for Lankans to explore. 

The Sunday Morning Brunch reached out to Anarchysaurus for more on his journey as a content creator, knowledge sharing as entertainment, and the importance of an open-minded audience. 

What was your main inspiration behind the type of content you post on TikTok? 

TikTok, for me, was mainly a personal platform where I would post random goofy videos I did during the quarantine times. When I installed the app and made content, I did not want it to be a public thing. But I did share my thoughts and a certain audience took a liking to it, so I went along with it and here we are. If I could name some TikTokers as inspiration for my content, they would be Aslan Pahari, Hank Green, etc.

Your more recent videos have discussed topics like toxic masculinity and you have, on occasion, addressed ‘hate’ comments. Considering the nature of these topics, would you say you have a message you wish to communicate to your audience through your content?

I talk about any social issue when I feel like there is a problem that no one is addressing and I like to start conversations and never be the one to finish them. The reason is simply that this is how we grow as a civilisation – we converse, debate, our ideas get sharper, and our goals clearer. So, if it is for a cause I believe in and sympathise with, I will never shy away from talking about it. 

In the same way, I want my audience to speak their minds as honestly as they can. I want them to point fingers, not just nod yes to everything I say. To me, my audience is not a fanbase, it feels more like a friendly symposium shared with some good friends (or rather, I want it to be so.) All in all, I think my viewers understand this. That is why I read all the comments I receive to the best of my ability.

What are some of the criticisms you have received with regard to your content, especially when you addressed claims of content replication, translating foreign content, etc.? 

I love criticism; I do my best work with criticism and I embrace it, as long as it comes from a sensible place and not just blatant hate or logical fallacies. For example, some people said I copy things off of Wikipedia, which is really funny to me, because I never refer to Wikipedia for information, because it is a user-updated platform and I would risk misinformation. If I ever actually visit Wikipedia, it would be to take the sources from the bottom of the page. 

As for the claims of ‘translating foreign content,’ I would have to ask them, ‘what do you think research is?’ Nobody can allocate resources to create primary information for every little thing, which is why secondary information such as academic articles exist. This is far more complicated than simple translation. 

In terms of content replication, the most prominent moment I can recall happened when several people pointed out that I used the original graph for survivorship bias similar to how international content creators used it. I cannot refrain from using the graph that established survivorship bias in a video on the topic, in the same way a chemistry teacher cannot refrain from using the periodic table of elements. Thousands of chemistry teachers internationally use the very same table. I do not think it is sensible to call it content replication. That is just how education works. 

There have been fair criticisms as well, mostly in terms of language usage, because most people expect certain terms when describing certain things. But I think it is a key point to remember that I am not a scientist, I am a science advocate. There is a vast difference between those two things. Other than that, most of the intense criticisms I receive are cases of straw man fallacies with mind-numbing logic (or lack thereof). 

For instance, I criticised the narrative of toxic masculinity and defenders stated that I was homosexual. In a similar manner, I criticised religious thinking and defenders stated that I was a puppet of the Christian Church. This is all very ironic because I am a heterosexual man whose spiritual faith is very close to core Buddhist philosophies. Hate comments are a natural part of an online presence. I’m no saint; I myself left hate comments on things I did not agree with when I was younger. It took a lot of learning and self-actualisation to grow out of it and it is all part of a process. 

How does your professional career complement your content creation?

I have had a lot of jobs and I never like staying in the same place for a long time. I have been in the marketing industry, the film industry, and the edutainment industry as a writer, digital illustrator, and researcher. Since all of what I have done in the past is used for what I do now, I guess my work certainly complements my content. 

Has content creation always been a passion of yours or is this something you have recently discovered to be an area of interest? 

I have always created things for as long as I can remember. I am surrounded by friends and family who are artists and they are constantly being creative, so it was second nature, honestly. It all started with an eagerness to make comics with some of my childhood friends in 2006. Today we are known as the PRUVE Storytellers and we just finished post production of our debut feature film ‘Marine Drive’. I guess I can say I have been doing this all my life. However, YouTube content specifically is just a happy accident that I went along with.

What do you think about your rise in popularity on TikTok? 

I think there was a big vacuum in educational content communicated in the local languages and I just happened to fit right in at the right time. My content was short, it was about things that any curious person would find interesting, and as a cherry on top, it was communicated in a friendly tone in Sinhala. Another thing that would have helped may have been my sense of humour, because TikTok users are predominantly from Gen Z and I just happen to love as well as use their humour as a Millennial.

What are your thoughts on the Sri Lankan audiences and how they consume content? 

I think the majority of the audience consists of nice, well-meaning people. Yes, even a good portion of the ones who leave hate comments. If I do see an issue with the general audience, I think it is their lack of open-mindedness. This is a textbook characteristic of a stagnant culture and therefore I do not antagonise nor look down on anyone who I might consider to be not as open-minded. 

However, I do wish that we would get to a point where we can have a civil conversation without anyone resorting to straw man arguments. I think for the most part, my videos have been received as intended because I mainly wanted to create a narrative for issues that are not spoken about and narratives that have been created.

What do you think about the content creators in Sri Lanka and the type of content available? 

I think a majority of the content that gets the most attention revolves around social gossip, not unlike our television shows. This is not a fair trade between the creator and the consumer, because the audience allocates what little precious free time they have for us creators, to see us and hear what we have to say. 

As a content creator, you have to give them substance and value, because they give you human attention, possibly the most valuable thing in our civilisation. Sri Lanka has not even scratched the surface of its true potential yet and I believe this with all my heart. Almost any content we successfully execute is an improvement. It is an awkward spot, but not at all a bad place to be in. 

In my personal opinion as a Sinhalese, I wish I could see more content from minority races in a way I can understand. I would love to learn more about my neighbours. It could be something like a speculative history podcast, where a Tamil person and a Sinhalese person can discuss the tragedies that happened in our country in the past, but in their respective languages facilitated with subtitles. Any content that deviates from pointless gossip and instead creatively encourages different audiences to come together and see things in a new perspective – socially, economically, and scientifically – has my support.

What are your plans for the future? Is there anything new audiences can expect? You have since started a YouTube channel. Is long-form content going to be your focus or will TikTok continue to be your main outlet? 

I have a lot planned for my audience – those who have been with me since the very beginning when I was making videos primarily about dinosaurs, as well as for the newcomers. I genuinely want to make sure they have a funny and enlightening video to watch when they find the time. I will focus mainly on YouTube and longer content because I’m a person who believes in quality over quantity (also because TikTok comments have a word limit). So I will take longer to make longer videos, but they will be better and made with love.

For more on Anarchysaurus and his content, check out his social media: 

YouTube - Anarchysaurus  

Instagram - @sandakath_mahagam 

Facebook - Sandakath Mahagamarachchi