Everyone loves a good conspiracy. There's a reason why Netflix has a bunch of them ready for you to binge like Unsolved Mysteries, which will rock you to your core at just how completely plausible they are and how they could easily happen to any of us.
It's these conspiracies that are mind-boggling and bone-chilling to hear about. However, there are some that are... well, completely laughable. And unsurprisingly, these types of conspiracies are the ones that have been going around recently in Thailand. We've got a few listed that are funny, another which might be something you believed because, to be fair, it's not too far of a reach for it to be possible and finally, a special mention of a man living on the street who claims to have been caught in the middle of a conspiracy. Who needs the Upside Down and underground Russian labs when you've got home-grown conspiracies right here?
The protests have been funded and encouraged by people outside Thailand
THE CONSPIRACY
These past few months have seen a rise in the number of protests, led mostly by young activists. They've been calling the government out for their hypocrisy, which isn't really anything new, but the protest movement has been going strong. Even high school students are getting in on it and raising three-fingered salutes. Of course, the movement has its fair share of critics but another thing that's no surprise are the sensational tales being weaved to explain just why these protests are happening. Possibly the most widely-believed story is that the protests are being funded and encouraged by a number of people. There are those who say the activists in Hong Kong are encouraging the protesters. Some have said the US is behind it all and wants to stir unrest in the country. One diagram shared on Facebook has even tagged one member of Netflix's board of directors and American billionaire George Soros as one of the people funding everything. Beware, your binge-watching is actually Netflix planting ideas in your head just like Leo did in Inception. Your thoughts are not safe from K-drama and sitcoms.
Should have done it on a corkboard with red yarn so that it looks more legit.
THE REALITY
Maybe -- and hear me out because this may be difficult to hear for those who believe these protests have billionaires with diabolical schemes behind them -- but maybe, just maybe, young people are fed up with the way the government is governing and want something better? I don't know, just a thought.
Young people are being brainwashed
THE CONSPIRACY
Isn't it strange that those who are crying out for change and calling out the government are young people? Isn't it also interesting that most of these young people are living in Bangkok or in the Central Region of Thailand? You'll never hear any of the sentiments or opinions they make from those outside central Thailand. The explanation behind this is simple: V2K technology. V2K or "voice to skull" technology is the use of radio signals to control minds. Yes, you read that right, the young people have been brainwashed and are being mind-controlled. How, you ask? Well, by the 5G on their phones, of course! Young people are the ones who are always on their phones scrolling through Facebook and Instagram, and doing their TikTok dances and what-not so it makes perfect sense that they're being brainwashed. That game Among Us is probably teaching them how to lie better, too. But don't think this is just speculation. People who believe this claim have shared the story of a student from Thammasat University last year who was brainwashed and amassed a following to protest. Those radio waves really are messing with kid's brains.
Young people lifting up the very thing that's causing their brains to think dumb thoughts.
THE REALITY
Young people get on their phones to actually escape reality and not to be indoctrinated. Why do you think we're the generation where memes were born, cat videos became a thing and TikTok boomed? The world is in such a crappy state we want to escape. So if young people are actually protesting and getting off their phones, it means something is really wrong that we've decided to take a break from trying to dance like Charli D'Amelio to do something about it.
Thanathorn is Hitler and Future Forward is the new Nazi Party
THE CONSPIRACY
What's left to say? Someone claimed that Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, leader of the now-defunct Future Forward Party, is the new Hitler on the rise. In fact, he's behind the brainwashing of young people. Apparently, he has stocks in a company that makes satellites so it makes total sense that he would use them for his brainwashing operations. Someone went as far to call him a threat not just to Thailand but the whole human race. They fear that with the mind control he's imposing on the youth living in central Thailand, they may actually end up killing those living in other parts of the country. With Thanathorn being likened to Hitler, some even saying he's actually Hitler reborn, it wasn't not too much of a stretch to equate the now-defunct Future Forward Party to the Nazis because reform is definitely the same thing as genocide, right?
All of them look sus.
THE REALITY
He's the leader of a party that's been dissolved, he's been stripped of his role as an MP, but he's still able to brainwash people because he allegedly owns stocks in a company that makes satellites? Sure, Jan.
The Coronavirus is actually a bioweapon from the US
THE CONSPIRACY
So aside from wanting to destablise the nation, apparently the US is responsible for the pandemic the whole world is suffering through right now. This was the story pushed by a lot of Chinese state-run media and even tweeted by a spokesperson from the Chinese ministry of foreign affairs. It would have been nothing but a conspiracy outside of Thailand's borders but lo and behold, a number of Thai media picked the story up and ran with it. One of the "reporters" (quotation most definitely intended) even made the most baffling connection of why Italy was one of the countries hit the hardest by the pandemic: because they had a deal with Huawei to roll out 5G in their cities and of course, the US hates Huawei with such passion that they'll release a deadly virus to stop them.
Yeah, this dude.
THE REALITY
One, do you really think the Cheeto-in-Chief is smart enough to concoct a plan like this? Two, does the fact that the US now has the highest number of Covid cases mean they've released this "bio-weapon" on their own shores, too? And finally, do you seriously think that toupee-wearing orange guy in the White House has the capacity to think of something like this? He's too busy playing golf.
The reported Covid cases and deaths are false
THE CONSPIRACY
This one's different from the rest since it's actually a good thing this is a conspiracy. Thailand has been credited as one of the nations who handled the pandemic well. The result? As of the writing of this article, 3,569 reported cases with 3,379 recovered and 59 deaths. Those numbers are the envy of other countries who have been hit much harder than Thailand. But many people, including myself, thought the numbers seemed too optimistic, and with the way this government has operated, it wasn't too far out to suspect that the numbers may be a lie. There are probably more cases and there are probably more deaths. The government is just being all hush-hush to keep people from panicking.
Now that the numbers down, it just makes sense to welcome Chinese tourists back... right?
THE REALITY
During a talk at the Foreign Correspondent's Club in June, Craig Griffin, representative of the global market research association Escomar, and Matthew Tostvein, Reuters editor for Southeast Asia, agreed that the numbers were accurate and that lying about the number of cases or deaths would be difficult. "In Jakarta, by the end of March we found 1,000 more burials than usual, since records began. Coronavirus was the only clear explanation," Totsvein said. "We did the same thing in Thailand and didn't find a large number of unexplained deaths." Why were the measures so successful in Thailand? Because of you. "I ascribe our success to the spirit of cooperation of the public," said Taweesilp Visanuyothin, the spokesman for the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. So while you and many others were sceptical about the numbers -- and with good reason -- it was also you that helped in actually keeping those reported numbers true. Now we can rest easy knowing the nation is doing well in keeping the pandemic at bay.
Special mention
This isn't a conspiracy in the sense that it involves some sort of wild far-fetched story. Instead, it's a man who claims to be solving a conspiracy out in the streets of Bangkok. The city is no stranger to graffiti but if you've seen writings on the sidewalk, walls or pillars in various places around the city that look more like diagrams or equations, you've stumbled upon the work of a man named Pichai. If you're lucky, you might even catch him actually working on the diagrams on the pavement as he talks to himself. Raphael Treza, a documentary filmmaker, released a half-hour feature on YouTube where he tracked Pichai down and was able to ask him a few questions. According to Pichai, he was once a soldier who got arrested and sent to jail. His family passed away and he's convinced they were poisoned. The stuff he draws on the streets are what he calls his notes as he tries to make sense of the "evidence" to figure out who killed his family, or so he claims. He doesn't consider his diagrams as drawings, though that didn't stop the BACC from featuring his "artwork". You can still see him in the Phra Khanong-Ekamai area as he continues to scribble and talk to himself, trying to solve a mystery that only he knows about.
Why use notebooks when you have sidewalks and walls?
