Governor Phakaphong issued the warning yesterday, saying, “Do not present or share fake news on April Fool’s Day or Wan Go-hok. We’ have the Computer Crimes Act.”
The warning comes after Phuket has featured heavily in the fake news sphere, with one fake news report of a large number of foreigners still entering Phuket being shared online being dismissed by a national broadcast in English yesterday (Mar 31) Foreign Affairs deputy spokesman Natapanu Nopakun.
In the broadcast, Mr Natapanu said that officials had investigated the claims and immigration officials had confirmed the report as not true.
“From Mar 26-30 only about 800 foreigners passed through immigration in Phuket. Most of those were outbound,” the said.
“Of the foreigners who entered Phuket, most of them had work permits,” he added. (See broadcast in English here.)
Meanwhile, the Anti Fake News Center has posted its rebuttal of a fake news post shared across Thai social media claiming that masses of foreign labourers were stuck at the bridge off Phuket, with the post claiming they hundreds of workers were not allowed to leave the island to go home.
The post used a photo of the bridges linking Phuket with the mainland with a photo inset showing a densely packed crowd of foreigner workers.
In its report, the Anti Fake News Center said that the Phuket Public Relations Office had investigated the claim and confirmed that it was not true.
“And from further investigation it was found that the incident [of the photo of the crowd of foreign workers] was on March 24, 2020, at the second Mae Sot border checkpoint, where Myanmar workers waited across the border before the checkpoint was temporarily closed to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus,” the report said. (See report here.)
“Therefore, we ask the public not to believe in such information and ask for cooperation: do not send or share the said information on various social media channels and for the people to receive information from Phuket Public Relations Office. You can follow the Facebook page of Phuket Provincial Police Station or call 076 216118,” the agency advised.
“The conclusion of this story is: No, it shouldn’t be reshared,” the report said.