As northern Thailand grappled with floods triggered by Typhoon Yagi in September 2024, a photo of King Maha Vajiralongkorn during the Covid-19 pandemic was shared in social media posts that falsely claimed it showed him personally overseeing relief efforts. The photo was in fact released by Thailand’s Royal Office in May 2020 and shows the kingdom’s monarch inspecting hand sanitizers that would be distributed to the public.
“#King Rama X flew a plane to a military camp in Chiang Rai,” read part of the Thai-language caption, using King Vajiralongkorn’s formal title, to a photo shared on Facebook on September 13, 2024.
“He ordered officials to prepare drones and flood relief parcels to be delivered with help of soldiers at various spots. This morning, the officers started to deliver these items to flood victims.”
Residents in Chiang Rai province in the country’s north grappled with what they called the worst flooding in decades after Typhoon Yagi barrelled through northern Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar in early September (archived link).
Floods and landslides triggered by Yagi have killed more than 500 people across the region, according to official figures (archived link).
The photo appears to show the kingdom’s monarch, who is wearing a blue tracksuit and a yellow face mask, speaking with officers in military uniform who are kneeling around him.
The same photo was also shared elsewhere on Facebook, X and TikTok.
It circulated after Thai newspaper Matichon reported that King Vajiralongkorn had instructed his privy council to deliver survival kits to flood victims in another northern Thai province, Phitsanulok (archived link).
Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has also relayed the king’s concern for the flood victims and his appreciation for volunteers (archived link).
But there have been no official reports of the king personally overseeing relief efforts in the country’s north, as of September 16.
Photo during Covid-19 pandemic
A reverse image search Google led to the same photo posted on the website of Thailand’s Royal Office on May 1, 2020 (archived link).
According to the photo’s caption, the king was being briefed by officers about the production of hand sanitizers that would be distributed as a preventative measure during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Below is a screenshot comparison between the image used in the false post (left) and the Royal Office’s photo (right):
A subsequent keyword search also found the same photo was used in news reports from May 1, 2020.
The photo appears at the 2:02 mark of a news report uploaded to Thai broadcaster MCOT’s verified YouTube channel, and a report published by the BBC’s Thai-language website (archived links here and here).
A similar photo of the king, taken from a set of images released by the Royal Office, was also made available on AFP’s archives on May 1, 2020.
The photo was captioned: “This undated handout from Thailand’s Royal Office released on May 1, 2020 shows Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn (L) looking at hand sanitizers that will be donated to the public as a preventive measure against the spread of the COVID-19 novel coronavirus in Bangkok.”
AFP has debunked other misinformation related to the flooding in northern Thailand here and here.
