February 12, 2025
BANGKOK – Thai fact-checking organisations have vowed their commitment to combating disinformation in Thai society as the issue has become a global peril, according to a seminar.
Kultida Samabuddhi, editor of fact-checking body Cofact, said misinformation and disinformation have been viewed as the world’s “biggest short-term risks”, citing the World Economic Forum’s 2025 Global Risks Report.
She was speaking at Tuesday’s seminar titled “Collective efforts to combat Disinfo 4.0 to mitigate the Global Risks” held to mark International Safer Internet Day, which focuses on creating a secure online environment. Present at the event were delegates from both government and civil bodies doing fact-checking.
Noting the report, Kultida said that the problems pose threats to societal cohesion as they could erode trust and exacerbate divisions within and between nations, leading to turmoil.
“They [misinformation and disinformation] are enormous in numbers. They are also sexy – emotionally provoking, enticing us to share them,” she said.
She pointed to the importance of fact-checkers, saying that they could help society to be “fact-based” by checking false information as well as any speeches from figures if they are true.
However, fact-checking stories, which requires strong efforts and patience, is less attractive than simply publishing false ones, she added.
“When asked why we still do fact-check in some stories, it is because we are declaring that we will not allow any false content to go off the hook, and everyone should prioritise the truth,” she said.
Meanwhile, Peerapon Anutarasoat, director of Thai News Agency’s Sure And Share Centre, said that misleading content is easily spread, and lasts long on the internet.
Peerapon suggested the government come up with systems that shield victims from false information like scams and make all stakeholders responsible for the loss while promoting media literacy among the public.
Thailand Consumer Council head of policy and innovation Pornvut Pipatanadejsak urged anyone victimised by online fraud to report to the council as it was set up to welcome complaints from consumers.
“We encourage complaints. The more they are, we will have more data to conclude with more credible solutions over the matter,” he said.
Currently, many news outlets have kicked off efforts to take on the issue, such as the Society for Online News Providers’s Cyber Booster 4.0 project, which saw collaboration from the Central Investigation Bureau to promote literacy and Thai PBS fact-checking Thai PBS Verify.
The seminar also pointed out rules regarding false content like the ASEAN Guideline on Management of Government Information in Combating Fake News and Disinformation in the Media.
Some critics have argued that “fact-checking” is often abused to further censorship of views disliked by establishment organisations like the WEF.