RTAF seeks public's help on fake news

RTAF seeks public's help on fake news

The Royal Thai Armed Forces (RTAF) have called on the public to help inform them about fake news online regarding the military as at least two military-related Facebook pages have been found to be bogus.

One that was registered under the name Communication of Armed Forces Development Command left a message that read, "March 24, mark for Lung Tu for the country's peace and security". Lung Tu refers to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, the sole prime ministerial candidate of the Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP).

Prachatai.com said the message was posted on March 13 at 1.47pm. However, the Facebook page was found to have been removed as of Thursday afternoon.

RTAF spokesman Krit Chantharaniyom said the Facebook page mimicked the military unit's authentic Facebook page.

He said the RTAF appealed to those behind the fake site to stop causing mischief as it yields no benefit to the country and could fuel further social division.

Legal action will be taken against the perpetrators for violating the Computer Crime Act, according to Maj Gen Krit.

He said the chief of the Defence Forces Pornpipat Benyasri had always emphasised that military personnel and their families must be politically impartial.

"Anyone who comes across such sites can report them to the RTAF, who may choose to prosecute," said Maj Gen Krit.

Col Pramot Prom-in, spokesman of the Internal Security Operations Command's Region 4 forward command, said another fake Facebook page was created in the name of Lt Gen Pornsak Poonsawat, the Fourth Army Region commander.

It contains posts that could mislead the public into believing Lt Gen Pornsak had ordered troops to vote for Gen Prayut, the spokesman said.

Officers were investigating, he added.

Meanwhile, two local administrative officers in Mae Hong Son's Muang district filed a police complaint Thursday, saying their houses were raided by military officers on Wednesday.

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