BANGKOK - For eight years, nothing seemed to shake the hold on power for Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, who first came to office in a 2014 coup and has survived a hotly disputed election, mass street protests and four no-confidence votes. Wednesday's decision by Thailand's Constitutional Court to suspend Prayuth, 68, from official duties was a rare setback, though.
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Three photos of Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha have been shared in multiple posts on Facebook alongside a claim they are pictures of him as a young man. The claim is false; the photos have been digitally manipulated from Prayuth’s recent photos.
The photos were published on Facebook here on February 4, 2021. The post has since been shared 170 times.
Screenshot of the misleading Facebook post, taken on February 11, 2021
The post s Thai-language caption translates to English as: “When Uncle Tu was a young man, he was very handsome and rich.”
Uncle Tu is a nickname given to Prayuth Chan-Ocha, who has served as Thailand s prime minister since he seized power in a coup in 2014.