Clip shows protest against Thai gambling bill, not Myanmar junta chief
- Published on April 25, 2025 at 10:56
- 4 min read
- By Pasika KHERNAMNUOY, AFP Thailand
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"Thai people protest against Min Aung Hlaing's visit to Thailand," reads Thai-language text overlaid to the video shared April 4, 2025 on Facebook.
The post's caption also makes a similar claim about the clip, which shows a group of people mostly wearing dark-green shirts and holding flags marching along the road.
The video also surfaced on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Threads and TikTok as Min Aung Hlaing was invited to attend a summit in Bangkok on April 4, a week after a devastating earthquake killed more than 3,700 people in his home country.
The March 28 quake also killed at least 53 in a tower block under construction in the Thai capital Bangkok that collapsed dramatically.
The decision to invite the junta chief drew criticism with protesters outside the venue hanging a banner from a bridge reading, "We do not welcome murderer Min Aung Hlaing" (archived link).
He is under multiple global sanctions and the International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor has sought an arrest warrant for him for alleged crimes against humanity committed against Rohingya Muslims.
The junta has carried out dozens of attacks on its own people since the quake, the UN said, including more than 16 air strikes since the military joined rebel groups in declaring a temporary ceasefire to allow aid to get through.
However, the junta chief was given red carpet treatment by the Thai government as he arrived for the meeting with Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and other leaders from Bay of Bengal nations.
Comments to the posts indicate people believed the video was from the protest against Min Aung Hlaing.
"Thailand is protesting against my country's leader," one user commented, while another wrote: "Thank you, Fighting Thailand."
Casinos bill
A reverse image search on Google using the video's keyframes found it posted on TikTok on April 1, 2025 days before the junta chief's visit (archived link)
Thai-language text superimposed on the video reads: "Brothers and sisters are suffering, today is April 1, 2025."
Hundreds of protestors rallied that day to oppose a government bill that would legalise casinos in the kingdom, according to a report from The Nation newspaper (archived link).
A subsequent keyword search led to a Facebook live video the same day that shows the same rallyists (archived link).
The same group appeared briefly in a local media report about anti-casino protests (archived link).
Scenes in the video match Google Maps street imagery of a road leading to the Thai parliament building (archived link).
AFP previously debunked misinformation related to the Myanmar junta chief's visit to Thailand.
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