This image has been doctored to include a photo of former Thai King Rama IX's dog

This article is more than one year old.
Published on November 18, 2020 at 08:30
3 min read
By AFP Thailand

An image has been shared hundreds of times in multiple posts on Facebook and Twitter that purports to show a group of Thai people paying their respects to the dead dog of former Thai King Rama IX alongside a claim that suggests it is a genuine photo. But the image has been doctored to include the dog; the original Reuters photo shows well-wishers praying for the health of Thailand's former king Bhumibol Adulyadej in October 2014.

The image was published here on Facebook on November 16, 2020. It has been shared 230 times.

Screenshot of the misleading Facebook post taken on November 17, 2020

The post's Thai-language caption translates to English as: “#WhatsHappeninginThailand #OhPayingRespecttoTheDogMeansLoyalty That is a dog that was just set up for people to worship lol #Thailandonly #ThisisThailand”.

The same image was also shared here and here on Twitter, alongside a similar claim in Thai.

Comments on the post from some Facebook users indicated they believed the photo genuinely shows Thai people paying their respects to a dog.

One comment reads: "Whoever wants to pay respect to animals, go ahead, I won't. Dogs are animals, why should we pay respect to them? What did they do to you? Good luck, paying respect to animals."'

Another reads: "This is crazy, paying respect to a dog."

Below are screenshots of the users' comments:

The image also featured in reports in Arabic and Korean alongside a similar claim.

The image, however, has been doctored.

A combined keyword and reverse image search found the original photo published here on the Reuters' website, dated October 8, 2014.

The photo's caption reads in part: “Well-wishers pray for the health of Thailand's revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej at the Siriraj hospital in Bangkok October 8, 2014. Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world's longest-reigning monarch, was making a good recovery in hospital on Tuesday, the palace said, following surgery at the weekend to remove his gallbladder. REUTERS/Chaiwat Subprasom.”

Below is a screenshot comparison of the image in the misleading Facebook post (L) and the Reuters photo (R):

The original photo of Tongdaeng was published in this report by the Bangkok Post, headlined “A dog with destiny”.

Below is a screenshot comparison of the image in the misleading Facebook post (L) and the photo in the Bangkok Post report. The late King’s foot can be seen in the doctored image:

Is there content that you would like AFP to fact-check? Get in touch.

E-mail