A short clip featuring a song mocking a once well-known musical ditty, We Will Keep Our Promise, by junta leader and Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, has become an instant hit. Yan Marchal, the clip maker, a budding songwriter and singer, has shot to fame overnight.
His "junta anthem update" clip, which was launched on June 10, got more than a million views within 24 hours, according to the BBC and other news sources. On the TV military channel, the number of views is about 10,000.
The songwriter changed the hook of the original song to "we will break our promise" and says that the regime needs "a lot more time". In the clip, he croons the song, with the regime banner in the background, similar to the days when Gen Prayut debuted his song, aka as "Returning Happiness", in 2014.
Obviously, the piece was not music to the ears of our dear leader or those of his men who apparently have no sense of humour and who felt the urge to take action. And so they did.
On Wednesday, the singer received a surprise visit from two police officers who forced him to remove the clip, sign a paper expressing his remorse for his "inappropriate deed", as well as offer his apologies to the regime and the Thai public.
Mr Marchal said he only meant to make fun of Gen Prayut's original piece, but some people didn't think it was funny.
He decided to follow the police officers' instructions to avoid getting into any trouble and also posted the documents on Facebook showing his signature.
I have to admit that the first time I watched the clip, I didn't really like it.
It's not music (literally) to my ears either. It's not very lyrical and made me question his artistic abilities.
In fact, Mr Marchal, who is French, misspelt and mispronounced some Thai words. He incorrectly spelled what should have been pid taa, meaning to close one's eyes or turn a blind eye (to corruption) as "wrong eyes". Such flaws unfortunately compromise the piece's artistic value. Thai language teachers would not be able to tolerate the errors in the song.
Nevertheless, the many views for his "junta anthem update" attest to the audience seeming not to mind, with the clip going viral.
It remains unclear what particular laws or sections the police invoked in forcing Mr Marchal to apologise or remove the clip from the public domain. But if they want to block the public from viewing and listening to the song, they need to wake up and pinch themselves. We are living in a digital era where state mechanisms may not have a place or role.
Another thing that they need to know is that such mockery is a bit like forbidden porn. An outright ban or censorship attempts can sometimes -- if not most of the time -- have the opposite effect as they only spur public curiosity and, needless to say, boosts its popularity.
Take a look at the controversial Prathet Ku Mee (What My Country's Got), created by a virtually unknown group called Rap Against Dictatorship, which became the talk of the town last year. The rappers just recently received an international award in Norway.
It's time the authorities learnt from the Prathet Ku Mee saga, yet the new junta anthem drama reflects the Thai state's lack of ability to learn about life in the digital era. The police overreaction seems to have created a situation of perfect irony. After all, isn't the country supposed to have returned to democracy?
The authorities may want to argue and justify their action by saying that satire is not necessarily related to democracy. But can you tell me the name of any leader in the free world who has not experienced such mockery?
The orange "Baby Trump" blimps gave everyone a good laugh when Donald Trump visited the UK. No matter how strong the leaders are, say Vladimir Putin or Angela Merkel, they still have to put up with being made fun of.
In several episodes of the animated version of Mr Bean, Queen Elizabeth II makes a cameo appearance, similar to other members of the House of Windsor in the show.
Yesterday, a legal officer attached to the regime appeared to come to his senses, saying the ban on Mr Marchal's clip would be revoked. Col Burin Thongprapai said the regime had no concerns about the song and the ban was unnecessary. Yet all this seems a bit too late.
Gen Prayut should realise the best way to silence his critics is to keep his promises and do good things for the country, avoiding corruption, nepotism and hypocrisy, something a lot of people, judging from the regime's past performance, doubt is even possible.
Ploenpote Atthakor is editorial pages editor, Bangkok Post.