False claim resurfaces about age of Buddhist monk who died in 2022 aged 109

This article is more than one year old.
Published on September 1, 2023 at 12:07
Updated on September 1, 2023 at 12:13
3 min read
By AFP Thailand, AFP South Africa

A video of an old man in an orange robe has resurfaced on social media in Nigeria alongside claims that it shows a Thai monk at the age of 399. This is false: in a previous debunk of a similar claim, the monk's grandniece told AFP Fact Check that he was 109 years old when he died in March 2022. The world's oldest-ever living person died in 1997 aged 122.

A Facebook Reel published on August 26, 2023, shows an old, frail Buddhist monk in a saffron-coloured robe blessing a little girl.

"399 years old from Thailand," reads a line of text on the video, which has been shared more than 10,000 times and liked more than 56,000 times.

A screenshot of the false Facebook Reel, taken on August 30, 2023

A number of Facebook users questioned his purported age in the comments section while others appeared to believe it.

Selection of comments below the false Facebook Reel

AFP Fact Check previously debunked the video when claims in Burmese put the monk’s age at 163.

Since then, the video has popped up on social media with varying ages attributed to the monk.

But while his true age was an impressive feat, claims about his longevity have been exaggerated.

Good innings

Clues in our previous debunk had pointed to the footage originating on TikTok. Indeed, a keyword search confirmed the original video was published (archived here) on TikTok on February 19, 2022.

Translated into English, the Thai-language caption reads: "When his great-granddaughter approached him, the monk felt love and care, he gave her a blessing."

A screenshot of the TikTok published in February 2022

The clip was posted on the TikTok account @auy.saranya, which also featured other videos of the monk.

Saranya Khiewwilai, a Thai woman who runs the TikTok account, told AFP Fact Check in May 2022 that the video shows her granduncle Luang Ta Am Ka blessing her daughter.

Saranya said Luang Ta, who lived in a village in Thailand's Nakhon Ratchasima province, was 109 years old when he died on March 22, 2022.

"Based on the house registration, he was supposed to be 92, but his mother registered his birthdate late. His actual age was 109 years old," she said at the time.

Local media outlet Thairath reported Luang Ta’s death on March 24, 2022 (archived here).

Oldest living person

The oldest living person as of May 2023 is María Branyas Morera, a 116-year-old Spanish-American woman (archived here).

The oldest person ever to have lived and verified by the Guinness World Records was Frenchwoman Jeanne Louise Calment, who was 122 when she died in 1997 (archived here).

AFP Fact Check has debunked a number of claims related to centennial records, including here, here and here.

September 1, 2023 Fixes headline typo

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