Footage from Australian firefighting operation falsely linked to Thailand-Cambodia clashes

"The Siamese thieves used an AT-6 aircraft purchased from the United States to spray toxic fumes on the Cambodian army," reads part of the Khmer-language caption of a Facebook video shared on December 9, 2025.

The short video, shared more than 700 times, purportedly shows the fumes being released over a forest from a low-flying propeller plane.

It circulated as fighting raged between neighbours Thailand and Cambodia at their disputed border, where both sides claim a smattering of historic temples (archived link).

At least 20 people have been killed in the latest round of border clashes -- the deadliest since five days of fighting in July that killed dozens before a shaky truce was agreed following intervention by US President Donald Trump.

The fighting has also forced around 600,000 people, mostly in Thailand, to flee border areas.

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Screenshot of the false post, taken on December 12, 2025, with a red X added by AFP

It was also shared with similar claims in other Khmer-language posts across Facebook.

But the footage was in fact filmed in Australia a month before the border conflict reignited.

AFP previously debunked a similar false claim that circulated during the countries' clashes in July.

A combination of a reverse image and keyword searches on Google led to the same clip shared on November 14 by Aircair Aviation on Facebook and Instagram, where it was credited to "National Parks and Wildlife" (archived here and here).

"Air Tractor 802 hard at work in the Warrumbungle National Park area earlier this week. Grateful to the pilots and crews involved," reads the clip's caption, referring to a national park in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW).

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Screenshot comparison of the video shared in the false post (left) and by Aircair Aviation in November 2025 (right)

The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) -- the government agency that manages national parks across the state -- told AFP in a December 12 email that they took the video during firefighting efforts to the east of Warrumbungle National Park in mid-November.

It said the plane is an Air Tractor 802 turboprop operated by Aircair Aviation, who was contracted to provide water-bombing services.

The border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia has spawned a litany of misinformation, which AFP has also debunked.