Thai pro-democracy protest leader Parit "Penguin" Chiwarak speaks to the press before handing himself in to the police to hear lese majeste charges in Bangkok on December 8, 2020. (AFP / Lillian Suwanrumpha)

Photo of an Arsenal football player is used to falsely claim foreign interference in Thai pro-democracy protests

  • This article is more than one year old.
  • Published on December 11, 2020 at 09:30
  • 4 min read
  • By AFP Thailand
An image has been shared multiple times on Facebook in December 2020, alongside a claim it shows a Lebanese lieutenant and his brother who are hired to work as personal bodyguards for Thai student leader Parit “Penguin” Chiwarak. However, this claim is false; the photo collage originates from a satirical article; the figure pictured in the second photo is Arsenal footballer Hector Bellerin at London’s Wembley Stadium in August 2020.

The photo collage was shared here on Facebook on December 4, 2020.

The post consists of two photos: the first shows two men in black balaclavas behind Thai democracy activist Parit “Penguin” Chiwarak and the second claims to show a close-up picture of one of the men.

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Screenshot of the misleading post, taken on December 8, 2020

The Thai script on the second photo says: “Lieutenant Hector Beres.”

The Thai-language post translates to English as: “This Lieutenant Hector Beres is a former commissioned lieutenant of Lebanon. He has gone through many hardships in his life. The United States bought him to fight in the Iraq war, he had precise shooting skills, and killed many people in terrorist attacks right at their doorstep. After the Iraq war, he became a personal guard of George Soros for many years.

“Since Thailand has had several protests, Thaksin bought him to become a personal guard for Penguin, with his brother. The Thai security system must be strict, it must investigate what these foreigners are actually doing in Thailand.”

Thaksin” refers to former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted by a military coup in September 2006. 

According to this September 17, 2020, report by the Bangkok Post, many royalists have protested at the US embassy building in Bangkok recently “to ask the US to stop supporting student rallies” and accusing the US of “intervening” in the ongoing pro-democracy movements in the country.

Many Facebook users appeared to believe the photos show a foreign national protecting the student leader, with one commenting: “Withdraw their visas”.

And another wrote: “Protecting the puppeteer”.

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Screenshot of Facebook comments

The pair of photos also appear with a similar claim in other Facebook posts such as this, this and this

Original post

A keyword search found that the photo collage and the caption originate from this December 3, 2020, post on Buddha SodaLime, a Facebook page hat posts satirical content. 

The page is described as a “comedian”.

Below is a screenshot of the image on the Buddha SodaLime Facebook page: 

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Screenshot of the original post on Facebook page Buddha SodaLime


Photo of footballer

A reverse image search on Google of the second photo in the misleading posts found it actually shows Hector Bellerin, a Spanish-born footballer currently contracted to Arsenal Football Club.

The photo, credited to Getty Images, was found in this report by SportsPro Media, a London-based sport industry website, dated September 8, 2020.

Headlined “Hector Bellerin becomes Forest Green’s second biggest shareholder”, the article reads, in part: “Spanish soccer international Hector Bellerin has become the second largest shareholder in English fourth-tier outfit Forest Green Rovers.”

AFP also located the photo, dated August 1, 2020, here on the website of Getty Images photo agency. 

Below is a screenshot of the photo on the Getty Images website: 

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Screenshot of the photo on the Getty Images website

The photo caption reads, in part: “FA Cup Final / LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 01: of Arsenal during the FA Cup Final match between Arsenal and Chelsea at Wembley Stadium on August 01, 2020 in London, England. Football Stadiums around Europe remain empty due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in all fixtures being played behind closed doors.”

Below is a screenshot comparison between the photo in the misleading post (L) and the Getty Images photo (R) :

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Screenshot comparison between the photo in the misleading post (L) and the Getty Images photo (R)

In response to the misleading posts, Parit “Penguin” Chiwarak told AFP via telephone on December 7, 2020, that his bodyguards are not Lebanese, but “half-Thai”.

“I can’t tell you everything because of confidentiality purposes, but the security guard is a mixed Thai,” he said.

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