These images have circulated in reports about Thailand, years before the coup in Myanmar
- This article is more than one year old.
- Published on September 13, 2021 at 11:22
- 4 min read
- By AFP Thailand
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The images were shared here on Facebook on September 4, 2021. The post has been shared more than 80 times.
The first and second images show a group of people assembling a device made from what appears to be PVC pipes.
The third image shows a similar device being launched into the air.
The post's Burmese-language caption translates to English as: "After long-range missiles come the PVC air-launch missiles.
"The rocket you are seeing [in the post] is lightweight and can reach up to 5km in height. To be able to shoot more accurately at the target than now, the techniques and materials needed have already been ordered from China and Laos.
"The missile produced is a low-cost handmade missile that was illegally tested in the East, southeast parts of Thailand and rural Laos. [Generation-Z] youths have successfully studied the technology".
"Generation Z" is a reference to young anti-coup protesters in Myanmar after the military ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
The continuing violence in Myanmar has pushed some in the anti-junta movement to form armed civilian forces.
There have been a growing number of clashes between the military and anti-coup fighters armed with homemade weapons.
The images have been shared with a similar claim on Facebook here, here, here and on multiple blogs including here and here.
However, the claim is false.
A reverse image search on Google found the images predate the coup in Myanmar.
They have all circulated in reports about festivals in Thailand.
First image
The first image was shared here on a Thai-language blog on March 6, 2016. The article references "Ban Bung Fai", which translates as "Rocket Festival".
It is celebrated by farmers in northeastern Thailand to mark the beginning of the rainy season.
The blog is about how the festival is celebrated in Isan region.
It is titled: "Bang Fai Lan tradition, the legend of Ma Kham Lai, Ban That, Phen District, Udon Thani Province".
Below is a screenshot comparison of the image in the misleading post (L) and the image in the blog post (R):
Second image
The second image was published in a June 2019 Thai news report about an accident at a fire festival in another Thai province.
The report reads: "At 5pm, on June 2, a local policeman based in Nong Bua Lam Phu province received an alert about a fireball explosion at the tent near the temporary firing base.
"After an investigation, the police found local people were in a state of shock.
"Scraps of fireballs which were made from PVC and gunpowder were on fire and burned those who were in the viewing area, 1 person was found dead along with 13 others injured."
Below is a screenshot comparison of the image in the misleading post (L) and the image in the Thai news report (R):
Third image
The third image is a screenshot taken from a YouTube video that shows how rockets are made for the Thai festival.
The video is titled: "How to make Bang Fai Saen". It was posted on YouTube on May 8, 2011.
Below is a screenshot comparison of the image in the misleading post (L) and the screenshot taken from the video (R):
AFP could find no credible report of anti-coup fighters using PVC missiles.
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