Anti-government protesters in Thailand have taken to the streets to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, and were suspended on July 1, 2025 as she faces ethics. But the extensive shared images of several mask protesters in the capital Bangkok contain visual errors that are obvious signs of AI.
“I question whether these protesters are Thai,” the image caption shared on Facebook on June 27, 2025. “They may attack each other and blame it on the government.”
Text overlay says the masked person is “Sriwichai Warriors”, one with Yellow shirt movement that has been strongly opposed to Shinawatra political family since the 2000s.
Screenshot of fake post taken on June 30, 2025 and added a red X to AFP
Similar posts surfaced elsewhere on Facebook and Tiktok after protesters gathered in the Thai government building and demanded that Paeton quit (archived link).
The heiress of the powerful Shinawatra dynasty faces a court case filed by Conservative MPs accusing her of violating the demand for “obvious integrity” in her diplomatic appeal with Cambodia.
Thailand and Cambodia have long been at the top of a territorial dispute that in May exacerbated cross-border conflicts that killed a Phnom Penh's troops.
When Paetongtarn called the former Cambodian leader, the Huns, discussing the business, she called him “uncle” and called the Thai military commander her “opponent”, sparking widespread opposition to her remarks.
Thailand's Constitutional Court said there was “there was enough reason to doubt” that Pettentaan might have violated ministerial ethics in the conversation, and the recording leaked in Cambodia. The court suspended her awaiting investigation (a link to archive).
However, AFP analysis of cyclic images found visual flaws, indicating that it was performed using AI.
The image appears to show people standing in front of the Bangkok Victory Monument, with Skytrain tracks visible in the back.
But comparing it to the Google Maps Street image in its actual location shows several structures, such as missing buildings and pavement markers in the image (archive link).
Comparison of screenshots of image (L) and Google Maps Street View monument images, AFP highlights inconsistencies
Visual errors include missing eyes and twisted faces, one person's Thumbs disappear in pants, logo mismatch on flags and shirts, weird shadows.
Despite the rapid rise in generative AI, such errors still occur and are a good indicator of unrealistic visual effects.
Screenshot of visually inconsistent image highlighted by AFP
A reverse search on Google found the earliest version of the image shared in a Facebook post on June 25, 2025, calling for protests against the Prime Minister (archive link).
AI detection tool Hive Mederation found that using AI produces images 99.5%.
Screenshots show the results of the beehive energy saving, taken on July 2, 2025
AFP here and here are more misinformation about facts related to the Thailand-Borg conflict.
