Image of ex-Thai PM Thaksin with sister in Dubai is AI-generated
- Published on June 24, 2026 at 11:29
- 3 min read
- By Chayanit ITTHIPONGMAETEE, AFP Thailand
Weeks after former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was officially freed by a royal pardon in June 2026, social media users in Thailand shared an AI-generated image that purports to show him visiting his exiled sister Yingluck Shinawatra in Dubai. A close analysis found clues the image was inauthentic, while detection tools indicated it was created using Google's AI models.
"It is now clear. Thaksin went to Dubai, making rounds to visit friends and attending overseas business as previously reported," reads a Thai-language Facebook post published on June 22.
It shares an image which purports to show Thaksin alongside his sister Yingluck Shinawatra -- another former Thai prime minister living in exile. She carries an infant while the man gestures a mini-heart.
The post -- shared by Paisal Puechmongkol, a former prime ministerial advisor with over 232,000 followers on Facebook -- quickly garnered more than 5,700 likes and 260 shares.
"People with wisdom can contribute to the country wherever they are. In contrast, those who exploit the country create destruction wherever they go," it goes on to say.
Other posts have also shared the same image on Facebook.
They emerged after Thaksin, 76, received a royal pardon on June 3, which freed him from all remaining legal restrictions following his conditional release from prison on May 11, and amid reports that he was planning to travel to Dubai (archived here, here and here).
Thaksin is one of the most influential figures in modern Thai politics and served two terms as prime minister.
His second term was cut short by a military coup in 2006, after which he spent more than a decade in self-imposed exile, largely in Dubai, before returning to Thailand in 2023.
He was immediately detained and convicted of corruption and abuse of power (archived link).
His younger sister Yingluck served as Thailand's first female prime minister in 2011 before she was ousted in a 2014 coup. She has since been living in exile (archived link).
However, the picture does not depict Thaksin visiting his sister in Dubai in June 2026.
Fabricated picture
AFP spotted visual inconsistencies in the image -- particularly the different ceiling seen from the reflection on a decorative mirror, one of many common artefacts found in AI-generated images where reflective surfaces are rendered inaccurately.
The trees and garden visible through the glass doors in the background also appear unevenly blurred, with some areas sharper than others at the same distance.
AFP compared Thaksin's facial features in the circulating image to authentic photos of him taken during his release from Klong Prem Central Prison in Bangkok on May 11.
A close inspection of the eyelid area reveals notable differences from an AFP photograph of Thaksin.
As of June 24, AFP has not found any credible reports saying he has been in Dubai or that he has met with his sister living in exile.
AFP analysed the image using Google's SynthID detection tool, which indicated with a "Very High" degree of confidence that the image was created using the company's AI tools (archived link).
AFP has previously debunked other misinformation related to Thaksin Shinawatra and Thai politics.
Copyright © AFP 2017-2026. Any commercial use of this content requires a subscription. Click here to find out more.
Is there content that you would like AFP to fact-check? Get in touch.
Contact us
