Photos of demonstration over Thai local poll results misrepresented as call to expel Myanmar migrants

"Some Thai citizens protested at Samut Prakan Market, a Burmese-majority area, demanding that Burmese be expelled and stricter checks be taken", reads part of the Burmese-language Facebook post uploaded on January 31, 2026. 

The post includes a compilation of four images of people gathered beside a road holding blue banners.

Burmese-language text superimposed on the collage reads: "Some Thais protested at Samut Prakan Market to demand expulsion of Myanmar migrants".

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Screenshot of the false Facebook post taken on February 4, 2026, with a red X added by AFP

Over 100 people gathered outside a restaurant in Samut Prakan -- located about 30 kilometres (19 miles) south of the capital Bangkok -- on January 12 to show support for a Thai delivery rider who had allegedly been assaulted by a Burmese worker earlier in the day, according to Thai outlet Thairath (archived link). 

Other outlets reported that Thai police launched an operation to crack down on illegal Burmese migrant workers shortly after a suspected Myanmar national shot and seriously wounded an officer on January 21 (archived here and here).

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said the influx of Myanmar nationals into Thailand has been accompanied by a surge in xenophobic rhetoric and harmful narratives targeting them (archived link).

The pictures have spread elsewhere on Facebook along with the claim, while another version claiming they showed Burmese migrants protesting against inequality has circulated on TikTok. 

But the circulating photos show a protest against a tiebreaker decision in a local election in northeastern Thailand.

Thai election protest

A reverse image search on Google led to a Facebook video on January 14, 2026 showing the same scene, with a caption that reads: "Everyone has the right to raise demands" (archived link). 

The clip shows a group of people holding signs that read: "We oppose the drawing of lots and call for a recount. We are demanding justice for candidate No. 3, who won the first round of vote counting." 

A woman can also be heard saying: "We object. We will not accept this."

Pictures in the false post match the video from its first frame and at the 0:10 and 0:17 timestamps.

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Screenshot comparisons of the false Facebook post (L) and the original video

Thai media outlets reported on the assembly on the day in video reports showing the same elements seen in the video uploaded by Rossarin (archived here and here).

More than 100 residents in Serpler subdistrict, Kumphawapi district, Udon Thani province, gathered to protest against the decision to draw lots in the local Subdistrict Administrative Organization (SAO) chief election on January 13, after the vote ended in a tie at 2,801 votes each (archived link).

The SAO chief is the one who governs rural subdistricts (archived links). It plays an independent role from the central district office managing local public services, essential infrastructures, community development and building permits.

Under Thai election law, the lottery system can be used to determine the winner to break a tie between two or more candidates (archived link).

Rossarin Netprom, the user who uploaded the video and took part in the protest, said the protest clip is unrelated to Myanmar. 

"No, I can confirm the clip was not about Myanmar. The clip shows people protesting against the drawing of lots to decide the SAO chief election by drawing lots," she told AFP by phone on February 4, 2026. 

"I gained a large number of new followers and received Burmese-language comments over the past two weeks, which made me realise my videos had been taken and shared with false claims."

She posted a similar video showing the same scene, with a caption that reads: "Oppose the drawing of lots and call for a recount of the votes", along with the hashtags #election and #SerplerSAO (archived link).

The building seen in the reports also matches the geotagged image of the  Ser Pler local government office, which is over 490 kilometres (304 miles) away from Samut Prakan Market (archived here and here). 

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Screenshot comparison of the Ser Pler local government office as seen in one of the media reports (L) and on Google Maps

There are no official reports on recent protests demanding the expulsion of Myanmar migrant workers from Thailand. 

AFP previously debunked misinformation related to Burmese migrant workers in Thailand here and here.