Social media posts misrepresent old Aung San Suu Kyi image as recent

"Some pictures of Mom Su and the president have surfaced. It is very sad to see. Stay safe and healthy," reads a Burmese-language Facebook post on January 25, 2026.

The accompanying image shows Aung San Suu Kyi, referred to by her popular nickname, seated next to former president Win Myint.

Both are serving jail sentences following a trial in a junta court that critics say was a sham designed to remove them from politics. 

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Screenshot of the false Facebook post taken on February 2, 2026, with a red X added by AFP

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military staged a coup in 2021, ending the country's experiment with civilian rule and triggering a civil war.

The dominant pro-military party claimed an overwhelming victory in polls concluded on January 25, 2026 that the junta pledged would return power to the people (archived link).

But with Aung San Suu Kyi detained and her party dissolved, critics say the ballot was stacked with army allies to prolong their grip on power (archived link).

The UN rights office, which has been harshly critical of the elections, warned that they had failed to respect fundamental human rights and that military attacks on the population had continued unabated.

Voting was not held in huge patches of the country controlled by rebel factions fighting in the civil war -- another hurdle cited by those questioning the poll's mandate.

The image surfaced elsewhere on Facebook and TikTok as voting was underway, drawing responses from users who believed it was recent.

"Both of them are getting thinner," one wrote, while another said: "Be healthy our Mom Su and president."

However, a reverse image search on Google surfaced a report from The Guardian on June 18, 2025 that includes a video showing the same scene (archived link).

"Leaked footage and prison logs reveal Aung San Suu Kyi's life in detention," reads the headline.

The circulating image corresponds to the 14-second mark of the video in the report. Time codes in the footage indicate it was filmed on August 22, 2022.

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Screenshot comparison of the false Facebook post (L) and the video published by The Guardian

According to The Guardian, the clip was from the military defector group People's Embrace, which shared similar visuals as well as prison logs on its Facebook page on June 19, 2025 (archived link).

A representative for the group told AFP via Facebook Messenger on February 3, 2026 the circulating image is "from the CCTV footage that we sent to The Guardian", and went on to say they received the footage from their sources inside the military.

AFP is not able to independently verify the clip.

Other outlets including BBC Burmese, DVB and Mizzima also reported on the leaked CCTV footage, citing The Guardian as source (archived here, here and here). 

More of AFP's reporting on misinformation related to the unrest in Myanmar can be found here.