YouTube v Culture Ministry | Bangkok Post: breakingnews

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Government to demand takedown of sex-trade spoof

The government plans to ask YouTube to remove a video poking fun at the Thai sex industry.

The 90-second spoof on Rosetta Stone language software joked that buyers could learn useful phrases in Thai - but the Culture Minister was not laughing.

The clip is a parody of a commercial for the Rosetta Stone language learning software.

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Your comments

  • Discussion 127 : 09 Feb 2013 at 18.26127

    youtube has a multitude of material on prostitution in Thailand. Many documentaries that portray Thailand in a very poor light.I would think these documentaries would tarnish thailands image a lot more than a comedy skit?

  • Discussion 126 : 08 Feb 2013 at 12.32126

    Looks like he needs to watch "Saturday Night Live". Nothing is taken seriously. It's entertainment in a farang world. Thai don't know what Democracy really is so how can you expect them to understand this. People who watch the show laugh briefly the the next joke appears and they forget about it. These jokes however would not be funny if there wasn't an ounce of truth to them. That's why they are funny.

  • Discussion 125 : 07 Feb 2013 at 08.51125

    Maybe this official response is just a cynical way of cranking up Thailand's image as the place to go to for sex. Good for business.

    If these folks really were concerned about Thailand's image they surely wouldn't do half of what they do.

  • Discussion 124 : 06 Feb 2013 at 23.39124

    Obviously SNL did their homework, especially the bit about German sex tourists. Now THAT was funny and oh, so true.

  • Discussion 123 : 06 Feb 2013 at 11.17123

    Thailand tarnishes its own image by over-reacting to the little issues, and under-reacting (or not reacting at all) to the big ones.

  • Discussion 122 : 05 Feb 2013 at 22.46122

    "The Streisand effect is the phenomenon whereby an attempt to hide or remove a piece of information has the unintended consequence of publicizing the information more widely, usually facilitated by the Internet. The term is a modern expression of the older phenomenon that banning or censoring something often makes that item or information more desirable, and leads to it being actively sought out to a greater extent than it would have otherwise been." - wikipedia

  • Discussion 121 : 05 Feb 2013 at 18.41121

    Many internet users see the funny side of it and those in the know are aware that there is some truth in what it portrays.Let sleeping doge lay.

  • Discussion 120 : 05 Feb 2013 at 18.33120

    What is...."tarnishing Thailand's image" more than this is:
    - ex massage parlor king now in politics
    - son of convicted murderer as "Culture Minister"
    - "not guilty",son of current police Minister now in the Police force.
    - not going after the rich and powerful that are behind the sex industry.

    If it's that bad then close it down.I think not!!!!

  • Discussion 119 : 05 Feb 2013 at 18.33119

    Is the hole deep enough yet or is he going to come up with more unrealistic demands and by doing keeping stoking the fire.For goodness sake man give it a rest don't you realise you are going from bad to worse by your actions.

  • Discussion 118 : 05 Feb 2013 at 18.21118

    Wow, it has attracted 117 postings. I did not know ENGLISH LANGUAGE can be so effective in promoting SEX TOURISM before. No wonder, the parliament was flashed with sexy picture on big screen and MP watching sexy picture during the parliamentary session.

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