Video of Thai lawmakers' scuffle from 2012 resurfaced in Cambodian social media posts
- Published on October 6, 2025 at 10:57
- 3 min read
- By Chayanit ITTHIPONGMAETEE, AFP Thailand
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"23/09/25 quarrel in the Thai parliament," reads the Khmer-language text overlaid on a video shared on Facebook on September 24, 2025.
The video, which racked up 4,300 reshares, shows uniformed officers surrounding a man on a podium, while papers are flung towards him. The camera then pans towards another scuffle on the floor of the conference room. The video also includes a clip of a woman dragging away a chair.
Identical clips circulated on Instagram and TikTok alongside the same claim it depicts a recent fight in Thailand's parliament.
Cambodian and Thai cyber warriors have continued to trade barbs online even after a ceasefire stopped five days of deadly fighting between the two countries in July 2025 that left at least 43 dead on both sides (archived link). Social media users have repeatedly repurposed old or unrelated images in a sustained disinformation blitz.
Meanwhile, tensions at the border bubbled over again on September 27, which saw troops clashing for the first time since the truce (archived link). Both sides accused the other of initiating the attack.
The circulating clip, however, does not show a recent Thai parliamentary session.
Thai parliament disorder in 2012
A reverse image search using the video's keyframes found a matching clip shared on TikTok on February 12, 2022, with overlaid Thai text that reads: "When parliament hits rock bottom: folders thrown, chair dragged away" (archived link).
The TikTok video features the logo of "Talking Thailand," a political commentary program which previously aired on local broadcaster Voice TV that shut down in 2024 (archived links here and here). The hosts were talking about the Thai Democrat Party's past actions, which frequently prevented parliament from carrying out its duties.
The superimposed Thai text reads: "Parliament stoops low, folders thrown, chairs confiscated".
Further keyword searches found the same video was uploaded by Thai newspaper Matichon on YouTube on May 31, 2012, while another video of the scuffle from a different angle shared on the same day has a caption stating the incident occurred over a controverisal "reconciliation bill" (archived links here and here).
Introduced in 2012 by the ruling Pheu Thai Party under prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra, the bill was seen by critics as a path to grant amnesty to her brother, ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra (archived link).
Local media reported that several opposition MPs fiercely objected the motion, with stacks of documents flung at the House Speaker, prompting police to intervene (archived links here and here).
The bill continued to be debated in parliament until it was unanimously rejected by senators in late 2013 (archived link).
The last clip seen in the circulating video was taken on May 30, 2012 and shows Democrat Party lawmaker Rangsima Rodrasami dragging away the House Speaker's chair in an attempt to block parliament from debating the reconciliation bill (archived links here and here).
The footage from 2012 was taken at the old parliament house in Bangkok. Thai MPs and senators relocated to a new parliament in 2021 (archived link).
AFP photos of the new parliament show a different hall than the one seen in the false post.
The official schedule on the Thai Parliament’s website confirms that no sessions were held on September 23, as claimed in the false posts (archived link).
AFP previously debunked other misinformation linked to the Cambodia-Thailand border conflict.
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