Shelling between Thai and Cambodian forces has eased after a fragile ceasefire was reached in Malaysia on July 28, but the information war between the countries’ netizens continues to unfold online.
Nationalistic hashtags, AI-generated images and unrelated photos from past events, some taken thousands of kilometers away but falsely claimed to show the frontline, have flooded Cambodian and Thai social media.
Officials from both sides have accused the other of leading disinformation campaigns.
Acting Thai Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai last week urged the public to ignore disinformation – which he described as a “deliberate effort to undermine Thailand’s credibility and reputation on an international stage” – and to rely solely on official Thai government channels.
Cambodia’s Ministry of National Defense accused Thailand of running a coordinated disinformation campaign, with spokesperson Maly Socheata saying Bangkok “doesn’t want the truth to reach the people.”
Authorities in both countries have warned social media users not to spread hate, incite violence or share unverified information, but with limited effect. Some debunked posts were even reshared by senior members of Cambodia’s ruling elite.
Digital platforms in both countries – like the border – have become a battleground.
Misinformation, unverified images and emotionally charged hashtags are competing for attention online. The flood of government-aligned content – amid limited press freedom – has prompted calls from small coalitions of independent media and civil society groups in both countries and the wider region for adherence to journalistic ethics in covering the border clashes. Meanwhile, a digital security analyst said the wave of online misinformation has also created opportunities for some to profit by stroking tensions.
“Social media is Gen Z’s world,” said Ngeth Moses, a Phnom Penh-based digital security analyst. “This generation knows how to use the algorithm to create trends.”
He said young netizens in both Thailand and Cambodia have formed separate Making Money Online (MMO) groups to organize and monetize unverified, altered and sometimes AI-generated content about the conflict through platform reward systems, creating an added incentive to go viral.
In the early hours of renewed clashes on July 24, several Cambodian social media accounts shared a video – one which drew over 255,000 views – claiming it showed a Thai F-16 fighter jet being shot down by the Cambodian military.
Fact-checking group Lead Stories later confirmed the video actually showed a Russian plane being shot down in Ukraine and had first circulated in June.
Thailand conducted several F-16 bombing runs in the border conflict.
Hours before the ceasefire agreement was set to take effect, another image showing a plane dropping wildfire deterrent chemicals, alongside captions claiming Thailand had used chemical weapons against Cambodia – which would be a violation of international law – circulated widely on Cambodian social media.
Some of the images were later found to be AI-generated, according to independent journalists covering Cambodia for the Kouprey newsletter. Others were identified by AFP as Reuters photos from the 2025 Palisades fire in Los Angeles.
One image from the Palisades fire, falsely captioned as showing Thai “toxic smoke,” was shared Monday by a senior figure in Cambodia’s ruling elite, Kouprey reported. CamboJA News verified the post has since been deleted. Another suspected AI-generated image, depicting a Thai F-16 releasing smoke, was reposted by a senior official at the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
While claims that Thailand used biochemical weapons remain unsubstantiated, Cambodia’s accusation that Thai forces deployed cluster munitions – often deemed a violation of international humanitarian law – is being investigated by a global watchdog on crime, conflict and corruption.
Thailand initially denied the charge, but a military spokesman later said such weapons “can be utilized when necessary,” drawing swift condemnation from rights groups.
Neither country has signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions, but both remain bound by broader obligations under the Geneva Conventions.
Rights groups Fortify Rights and Human Rights Watch have accused both sides of possible violations of international humanitarian law during the five-day conflict, which displaced more than 300,000 people and left at least 43 dead, including civilians.
Online, nationalistic narratives continue to spread across platforms.
Hashtags circulating on Facebook, X and TikTok among Khmer-language accounts have included #JusticeForCambodia and #CambodiaSelfDefend. On Thai social media, users have frequently used #CambodiaOpenedFire when posting about the conflict, which has now entered a lull.
Hundreds of thousands of users have posted using these hashtags.
The Thai army also encouraged the use of hashtags such as #CambodiaShootsFirst, #ThailandLovesPeaceButWhenItComesToWarWeAreNotCowardly, and #CambodiaOpenedFire.
Blame over who fired first has followed each clash between the neighbors since a May incident, which marked the first Cambodian soldier killed in the latest round of fighting. Both Bangkok and Phnom Penh have been quick to trade accusations whenever clashes break out.
A Thai journalist told Nikkei Asia that a troubling trend on local social media was a spike in comments calling to “delete Cambodia from the map.” He observed that some Thai media outlets were amplifying the tensions by prioritizing emotionally charged coverage.
That amplified rhetoric may have contributed to the reported attacks on Cambodian migrant workers in Thailand shortly after clashes resumed.
Central, a Cambodian rights group, documented between 15-20 cases involving attacks on Cambodian nationals in Thailand since July 25.
Meta, which operates Facebook and Instagram and has long faced criticism for amplifying hate speech during conflicts – notably against Myanmar’s Rohingya minority. The company did not immediately respond to questions from CamboJA News about whether it is taking steps to curb the surge in inflammatory rhetoric on Khmer- and Thai-language feeds.
“In places with low digital literacy, people struggle to distinguish between disinformation, misinformation and fact,” said Moses, who researches online behavior in both countries. “Because of this – and the anger and hate online – it’s difficult to stop the spread of false information. Even trusted sources are no longer trusted.”
The social media conflict has also sparked growing concern among independent media and civil society organizations in both countries in the wider region.
A coalition of 16 rights and journalism groups, including the Cambodian Center for Independent Media, CamboJA and Thai news outlet Prachatai, issued a joint appeal Friday urging ethical, impartial reporting and protection of journalists covering the conflict.
“We further call on all journalists – local or international, Cambodian or Thai, professional or citizen – to strictly adhere to globally recognized journalistic codes of ethics, especially when reporting on sensitive cross-border issues,” they said.
“Ethical journalism requires accuracy, fairness and a conscious effort to avoid stereotyping or contributing to conflict escalation.”
