Image of masked anti-Thai PM protesters bears AI signs

Published on July 3, 2025 at 09:15
3 min read
By AFP Thailand

Anti-government protesters in Thailand had taken to the streets to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra before her suspension on July 1, 2025 as she faces an ethics probe. But a widely shared image of several masked demonstrators in the capital Bangkok contains visual errors that are telltale signs of AI.

"I question if these protesters are Thai," reads the Thai-language caption to the image shared June 27, 2025 on Facebook. "They might attack each other and blame it on the government."

A text overlay says the masked individuals are "Sriwichai Warriors", a group associated with the Yellow Shirt movement that has fiercely opposed the Shinawatra political family since the 2000s.

Screenshot of the false post taken June 30, 2025, with a red X added by AFP

Similar posts surfaced elsewhere on Facebook and TikTok after protesters gathered in Thailand's Government House demanding Paetongtarn to step down (archived link).

The heiress of the powerful Shinawatra dynasty is facing a court case filed by conservative lawmakers accusing her of breaching a requirement for "evident integrity" during a diplomatic call with Cambodia.

Thailand and Cambodia have long been at loggerheads over a territorial dispute, which intensified into a cross-border clash in May that left one of Phnom Penh's troops dead.

When Paetongtarn called Cambodian ex-leader Hun Sen to discuss the row, she called him "uncle" and referred to a Thai military commander as her "opponent", sparking widespread backlash over her rhetoric.

Thailand's Constitutional Court said there was "sufficient cause to suspect" Paetongtarn may have breached ministerial ethics in the conversation, a recording of which was leaked in Cambodia. The tribunal suspended her pending a probe (archived link).

However, an AFP analysis of the circulating image found visual flaws indicating that it was made using AI.

The image appears to show the men standing in front of Bangkok's Victory Monument with the capital's skytrain tracks visible at the back.

But comparing it with Google Maps street imagery of the actual location shows several structures such as buildings and road surface markings that are missing in the image (archived link).

Screenshot comparison of the image (L) and Google Maps street view imagery of Victory Monument with inconsistencies highlighted by AFP

Othe visual errors include missing eyes and distorted faces, a person's thumb disappearing into their trousers, mismatched logos on a flag and a shirt, and odd shadows.

Such mistakes still occur despite the meteoric rise in generative AI, and are a good indicator of inauthenticity of visuals.

Screenshot of the image with visual inconsistencies highlighted by AFP

A reverse search on Google found the earliest version of the image shared in a June 25, 2025 Facebook post calling for a protest against the prime minister (archived link).

The AI detection tool Hive Moderation found there was a 99.5 percent chance the image was generated using AI.

Screenshot showing Hive Moderation results, taken July 2, 2025

AFP has fact-checked more misinformation related to the Thailand-Cambodia conflict here and here.

Is there content that you would like AFP to fact-check? Get in touch.

E-mail