March 2, 2020 (Tony Cartalucci - ATN) - It was particularly interesting to see in the Bangkok Post a columnist - Paritta Wangkiat - complaining about "fake news" in regards to what she called "attacks" and "information operations" (IOs) on what she called "pro-democracy" protesters coming out in support of corrupt billionaire Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit and his Future Forward Party.
The mobs are organized online by Future Forward's well-funded column of online marketing experts who have openly used fake accounts to promote hashtags and inflate the supposed popularity of the party despite its obvious failure at the polls both during the 2019 general election and subsequent polls held afterwards.
This online IO was exposed as early as 2018 - but completely ignored by the Western media and those in the Thai media who ape and eagerly serve Western interests - like Paritta Wangkiat.
In a 2018 article published by this author titled, "Twitter Bot Armies Target Thai Politics," it was pointed out that:
It appears that the Western-backed opposition in Thailand is attempting to create the illusion of popular support online after failing repeatedly to create it in the streets of Bangkok, the nation's capital.
Hundreds of suspicious accounts either clearly bots and sockpuppet accounts, or exhibiting suspicious behavior have begun promoting pro-opposition propaganda in unison after nearly a year of apolitical but equally similar activity.The article also pointed out open admissions from across the Western media and Western governments themselves that IOs have been a part of Western efforts to project power and influence into the internal political affairs of targeted nations - including Thailand.
None of this is mentioned in Paritta's op-ed in the Bangkok Post - or anywhere else on the Bangkok Post website this year or any year previously.
Instead the summation of Paritta's argument is drawn from claims made by the now disbanded Future Forward party - an unbalanced and blatantly biased argument devoid of journalism.
The Thai government's explanation for investments in online information warfare was to counter fake news and attempts to manipulate the public through the very sort of IOs exposed as early as 2018 but utterly ignored by "journalists" like Paritta.
Her attempts to portray mobs clamouring in support of Future Forward and demanding the current government - elected into power by Thai voters - as "pro-democratic" helps further expose just how disingenuous both Paritta is and the brand of propaganda she represents - as well as claims that the growing backlash against the mobs is an "IO."
Paritta represents a brand of shameless propaganda that eagerly ignored this problem as it festered for years and now eagerly portrays efforts to counter the problem as "undemocratic" and a conspiracy by the government even as "students" demand a popularly elected government resign - a demand that even at face value couldn't be more undemocratic.
In reality these "flash mobs" are demanding impunity and power for an unpopular political party run by an openly corrupt billionaire who in turn works on behalf of a convicted criminal and fugitive - Thaksin Shinawatra - another fact completely omitted from Paritta's and other columnists at Bangkok Post's rants and raves. In fact, many of these mobs feature Thaksin Shinawatra's "red shirt" street front - another inconvenient reality ignored by Paritta and company.
The current ruling government - Palang Pracharath - won the 2019 election specifically because it promised to end the lingering threat of street mobs posed by Thaksin Shinawatra and his seemingly unending list of eager proxies which most recently include Thanathorn and Future Forward.
The backlash against these mobs is real - not a government "IO" - and the backlash will only continue to grow if the mobs continue attempts to disrupt peace and stability.
Bangkok Post and Others are Themselves "IOs"
And while Paritta appears to enjoy huge support with her and others at Bangkok Post receiving what seems to be immense online support with "likes" flooding op-eds and articles critical of the current Thai government - and readers supporting her sentiments in the comment section below - it should be pointed out that Bangkok Post itself operates as an IO - suppressing critical comments against its staff in comment sections and allowing individuals to squat on their website day after day repeatedly clicking "like" and submitting multiple comments of support from multiple accounts operated by single individuals with single IP addresses to inflate the illusion of popularity of the newspaper's editorial stance.
For example - this author has been banned from commenting on Bangkok Post for years. Others who voice even mild criticism of anti-military or anti-monarchy sentiments on the English-language newspaper's online edition are few and far between.
Paritta and the Bangkok Post represent a vector for one-sided politically-motivated content - or in other words - propaganda - not journalism.
If the Thai government has confronted this with their own information operations - it is about time.
Paritta concludes her op-ed by appearing to claim Thai "students" have a monopoly on the truth and those claiming they've been tricked into coming out into the streets may have themselves been tricked by government IOs.
In reality these mobs - by simply looking at them with one's own eyes - are filled with elderly aunties who have regularly appeared over the years at Thaksin Shinawatra's various street mobs - and clearly aren't "students." Those students who are participating represent a small minority of the public who have yet to join the workforce, build families, or gain experience in anything at all involving the actual reality most Thai voters faced when they chose Palang Pracharath over Future Forward.
Students joining these mobs have an idealistic grip on politics at best and are the victims of cynical and well-funded propaganda exploiting their inexperience and ignorance at worst.
They don't have a monopoly on the truth - they are a symptom of those who have waged war against the truth -all in a bid to transform an unpopular political party that lost the 2019 elections and is now disbanded into a growing cancer that will consume Thai political and economic stability - but only if people allow those like Paritta to help it metastasize instead of confronting lies and attempts to spin the truth as "misinformation" and "IOs."
