False Claims Circulate After Border Clashes
Following reports in Thai media that the country's military had regained control of Ta Khwai Temple and Hill 350 during renewed border tensions with Cambodia in December 2025, misleading content began spreading online.
A Khmer-language Facebook post from December 21, 2025, included six images. Three showed Thai soldiers at a temple on the contested frontier, while three others purported to reveal that the original photos were actually taken in a studio against a green screen. The post used a historical name for Thailand, stating: "What more is there to explain, Siam? Stop deceiving people. It's time to stop acting -- you've been caught. Do you have no shame, Siamese thieves?"
The border conflict, which flared up again that month, is rooted in a long-standing dispute over colonial-era demarcation and involves several ancient temple sites along the 800-kilometer frontier. The recent fighting resulted in significant casualties and displacement.
Military and Fact-Checkers Respond
Colonel Ritcha Suksuwanon, deputy spokesperson of the Royal Thai Army, informed AFP on December 22 that the authentic pictures of soldiers were captured at the disputed border area two days prior.
While the original military photos were shared on a Thai Facebook page on December 20, claims about studio staging were determined to be false. Investigations revealed that the images suggesting a studio setting were fabrications.
Analysis showed these pictures contained visual errors typical of AI-generated content, such as unreadable text on equipment and blurred background details. A reverse image search indicated they were labeled "Made with Google AI" on the search engine's platform. Furthermore, Google's SynthID detector, with "very high" confidence, identified them as created using AI tools.
The misinformation has been debunked by fact-checking organizations including Thai PBS Verify and Anti-Fake News Center Thailand.
