M any Thais were upset that several Western media outlets reported yesterday that “Thailand launched air strikes” against Cambodia on Monday without clearly stating that this happened after Sunday’s clashes—leading foreign readers, most of whom probably would only skim the headlines before scrolling past, to potentially “misunderstand” that Thailand attacked first.
While this writer cannot independently verify who launched the first strike on Sunday, December 7, 2025, Thais should take this as a wake-up call.
Western media are not always high-quality. Sensational headlines or headlines without proper context are common. And it’s a reminder that the way many Thais view the world through foreign media can be distorted—just as their headlines about the Thai-Cambodian conflict have shown to be potentially problematic.
I couldn’t help half-laughing, half-feeling sorry for an acquaintance who was fuming with anger on Facebook yesterday, even though he himself spends his days translating and summarising Western news about world affairs for his Thai readers on Facebook religiously as if it were holy scripture—the absolute truth to understand the world, only to be gravely disappointed by these foreign media’s headlines.
P.S. Thai media aren’t much better. Right now, many outlets are acting like cheerleaders for war. Some are even upset that the Thai government led by PM Anutin Charnvirakul (which Cambodian Senate President Hun Sen has tried on Monday to portray Anutin—using old photos and videos of Anutin in Cambodia—as being close to Cambodia) allegedly refuses to let the Thai military go all-out with heavy attacks.
A former senior colleague and a prominent editor complains on Facebook this morning that he found a newscaster behaving as if he’s a guru teaching battle strategies to the Thai Army in order to “annihilate Cambodia.”
He added: “Warn him to come to his senses that he should be working [as a journalist] and not warmonger.”
My take: The tone of many Thai journalists is like promoting a product. The “product” that boosts live-view sales nonstop is death and destruction—what we call war. The more you push people to kill each other, the higher the social media engagement. Can the ‘Thai army’ of athletes at the SEA Games in Bangkok really compete with a Thai military equipped with F-16s in attracting social media engagement?
P.S. Will Thai media associations come out to warn these journalists? Or are they cheering for more war and killings as well?
I fear that many Thai journalists and media outlets can no longer differentiate their duty as journalists from that of being a warmonger because their subconscious ultra-nationalist hat is more influential than their journalist’s hat.
P.S.2 Paul Handley, the author of banned book “The King Never Smiles: A Biography of Thailand’s Bhumibol Adulyadej” posted about Khaosod English on X this morning regarding our necessity to note that we cannot independently verify some of the facts (as stated by the Thai Army) as of press time.
“Good for Khaosod saying it “cannot independently verify the facts as of press time”. An important point.”
________
