Keyboard Warriors and the Thai-Cambodian War of Words
As rockets fall on petrol stations and Times Square lights up with Thai flags, the Thai-Cambodian border conflict has spilled far beyond the jungle terrain. It’s now raging across screens, feeds, and hashtags—where keyboard warriors have become frontline combatants in a war of words.
This isn’t just a geopolitical standoff. It’s a digital psyop, a media melee, and a test of national resilience in the age of algorithmic warfare.
From Border Blasts to Facebook Feuds
The July 24 Cambodian rocket strike on a PTT station in Si Sa Ket province, which killed eight civilians and injured 13, was a brutal reminder of the conflict’s human cost. Yet even as the debris settled, the battle shifted online. Cambodian influencers circulated images alleging Thai use of poison gas and suicide drones—claims swiftly debunked as wildfire suppression photos from California.
Thai netizens responded with hashtags like #TruthFromThailand, rallying behind military denials and patriotic slogans. The digital trenches were dug deep, with misinformation, memes, and nationalist fervour flooding timelines.
Times Square Diplomacy
In a bold countermove, Thai media giant Plan B launched a campaign in New York’s Times Square plus Thai flags in digital billboards across Bangkok. Billboards equivocally declared Thailand’s love for peace—but also its readiness for war. The message was clear: Thailand would not be digitally outgunned.
And the high cost of the campaign, and originator, as the Weekend War went to the UN was not detailed. Israel with similar media campaigns or crude propaganda in Times Square before UN meetings on Gaza.
This wasn’t just flag-waving PR - state/military or private sector. It was strategic morale-building, aimed at Thai troops, families, and the global audience, via the UN, watching Southeast Asia’s simmering flashpoint.
Thai Media Pushes Back
Amid accusations from the Club of Cambodian Journalists (CCJ) that Thai reporting lacked ethics, three Thai media bodies—TJA, SONP, and NUJT—issued a joint statement rejecting the claims as defamatory. They accused the CCJ of acting as a government mouthpiece and failing to regulate Cambodian disinformation.
The Thai media reaffirmed its commitment to impartiality and ethical reporting, suspending ties with the CCJ until further notice. The message: journalism must not become a proxy for propaganda.
Psyops and the Manufactured Enemy
This conflict isn’t just about territory. It’s about narrative control. Cambodian officials have weaponized social media to paint Thailand as the aggressor, while Thai outlets highlight Cambodia’s alleged violations of international norms.
The result? A digital fog of war where every truth is contested, and perception becomes policy.
Political Fallout and Dissent
Back home, Thai MP Sahassawat Kumkong faced censure for criticizing the military’s role in the conflict. Activist Srisuwan Janya filed a petition to bar him from future elections, accusing him of undermining national unity.
Meanwhile, independent voices like Khaosod English and journalist Pravit Rojanaphruk continue to challenge the militarized narrative. They warn of creeping authoritarianism and the dangers of letting the army become the nation’s spokesperson - factors that have largely happened in Cambodia with the end of opposition parties and independent media.
Kamolrat’s Story: The Human Cost
Amid the digital noise, human stories like that of Kamolrat Phonsetthalert—owner of the bombed PTT station—reveal the real toll. With no insurance coverage for war damage and over 50 employees facing job loss, Kamolrat has called for government intervention.
Her trauma, and the silence from insurers and officials, and 40 dead both sides of the border, underscores the gap between national rhetoric and flag waving and local reality.
Info as Ammunition: Bangkok Post vs Khmer Times
While Thai troops patrol the jungle, the real war may be unfolding in cyberspace.
A recent Bangkok Post editorial warned that, in all sincerity, information is now the key weapon, and Thailand’s porous cybersecurity is leaving it exposed to Cambodian IO (information operations).
State-sponsored bots have flooded social media with doctored images and fake news, painting Thailand as the aggressor. Yet the Ministry of Digital Economy remains conspicuously absent, prompting calls for a national digital charter—possibly with Thai military scrutiny too.
IO/psyops tactics attributed to the Royal Thai Army (RTA), based on investigations and disclosures from Twitter, the Stanford Internet Observatory, and Thai parliamentary scrutiny:
1. Coordinated Inauthentic Behaviour (CIB) on Twitter
Twitter removed 926 accounts linked to the RTA in 2020.
These accounts amplified pro-government and pro-military narratives, often replying en masse to opposition figures and hashtags. Not dissimilar to UK's 77th Brigade army domestic psyops on social media during Covid and now a London Met Police Facebook Unit to enforce Right Thinking.
Most RTA accounts had no followers, used stolen profile pictures, and lacked bios—indicating low-impact but coordinated activity.
2. Targeting Opposition Parties
The IO network focused on discrediting the Future Forward Party (FFP) and Move Forward Party (MFP).
Tactics included dogpiling tweets, mocking dissent, and boosting military PR content.
The timing coincided with sensitive events like the Korat mass shooting and the dissolution of FFP.
3. Narrative Control During Crises
During the Korat shooting, IO accounts attempted to neutralize criticism of the military.
They also pushed COVID-related content that aligned with government messaging, including retweets of the Prime Minister.
4. Use of State Budget and Infrastructure
Documents presented in Parliament showed ISOC-funded websites promoting state narratives in insurgency-prone regions.
These platforms attacked human rights groups and civil society organizations, especially in Thailand’s Deep South.
5. Denial and Reframing by Military Spokespersons
The RTA consistently denies running IO campaigns, claiming it merely “corrects misinformation”.
Officials argue that their social media use is for public relations, not manipulation.
Critics, including MPs like Rangsiman Rome, argue that these denials mask a systemic misuse of taxpayer funds to sow division.
In Thailand’s domestic information operations, dogpiling has been used by military-linked accounts to:
Discredit opposition figures like Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit or Pita Limjaroenrat.
Suppress dissent by overwhelming critics with hostile replies.
Create the illusion of consensus around pro-military or nationalist narratives.
This tactic is part of a broader strategy to control digital discourse, especially during politically sensitive moments like elections, protests, or military scandals.
Scambodia’s Call Centres: Industrial-Scale Psyops
Cambodia’s sprawling scam compounds though—dubbed “Scambodia” by critics—reveal the terrifying strength of online psyops when fused with criminal enterprise. In cities like Sihanoukville, Poipet, and Phnom Penh, thousands of trafficked workers are forced to operate fraudulent call centres, trawling social media and dating apps to manipulate victims across Asia and beyond.
These operations, often disguised as tech parks, are run by transnational crime syndicates with alleged ties to political elites. The psychological warfare is industrial: fake personas, scripted emotional manipulation, and algorithmic targeting are deployed with military precision. As the UN warns, this isn’t just cybercrime—it’s a humanitarian crisis wrapped in digital deception, where psyops tactics are weaponized not for ideology, but for profit.
Some forecasters estimate the call centres as generating half of Cambodian GDP and the gangs with links to President Hun Sen a Bibi-style factor in the border war as a distraction from the heavy Thai/Chinese/Interpol crackdowns on the scam gangs and concomitant traffiking (7,000 people(!) freed from digital servitude on the Myanmar border), drugs, bitcoin money-laundering etc.
Digital Warlord on the Run?
In the shadowy world of Southeast Asian cybercrime, whispers circulate about Kok An, a so-called “digital warlord” allegedly tied to call centre psyops, bot farms, and cross-border disinformation campaigns. Whether considered myth or reality, Kok An represents the archetype of a freelance IO tactician—a figure who weaponizes algorithms, sock-puppets, and emotional manipulation for profit or politics.
Rumoured to have fled a compound in Bangkok just before a police raid, Kok An’s legend grows in Telegram channels and darknet forums, where digital mercenaries trade scripts like arms dealers. In a region where keyboard warriors are state assets, the idea of a warlord on the run blurs the line between cybercrime and cyberwarfare.
Yet psyops became a bloody reality on July 28, 2025, Lim Kimya, a 74-year-old former Cambodian MP from the dissolved Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), was shot dead outside Wat Bowonniwet temple in Bangkok. He had just arrived by bus from Siem Reap with his wife.
Human rights groups, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, condemned the killing as a likely politically motivated assassination, part of a broader pattern of transnational repression targeting Cambodian dissidents abroad. Kimya’s final Facebook post criticized Cambodian Deputy PM Hun Many, fueling speculation of state-linked retaliation.
Transnational Repression Intensifies Kimya’s killing is widely seen as part of a broader campaign of transnational repression targeting Cambodian dissidents abroad. This includes prior assaults, forced repatriations, and surveillance of exiled activists in Thailand, Laos, and even the UK.
As Kimya was a dual French citizen, France is expected to demand a transparent investigation and may exert diplomatic pressure on both Thailand and Cambodia
And a leaked Thai government watchlist from 2021 included 183 names of dissidents, ranging from MPs to teenage activists and even a Buddhist monk. Many dissidents were tracked using passport and flight data, suggesting state-level surveillance. Cambodia and Laos have been accused of complicity in disappearances and deportations, often under pressure from Thai authorities.
Timeline of Thai and Khmer Dissidents Missing or Killed
| Date | Name | Nationality | Incident Type | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 2019 | Soun Chamroeun | Khmer | Assault | Bangkok, Thailand |
| Name | Status/Incident | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Wanchalearm Satsaksit | Disappeared in Phnom Penh (2020) | Abducted while in exile; last heard saying “I can’t breathe” on phone. |
| Surachai Danwattananusorn | Disappeared in Laos (2018) | Former communist and Red Shirt leader; presumed dead. |
| Chatcharn Buppawan (Puchana) | Found dead in Mekong River (2018) | Body gutted and filled with concrete; exiled in Laos. |
| Kraidej Luelert (Kasalong) | Found dead in Mekong River (2018) | Same incident as Puchana; both were close to Surachai. |
| Pavin Chachavalpongpun | Exiled academic |
Geopolitical Rhetoric: A Breakdown
The Khmer Times has become a platform for rabid geopolitical analysis, especially in the context of escalating Thai-Cambodian tensions. Its op-eds—often penned by mystery figures like Roth Santepheap surely overdue an interview of his own?—are unapologetically combative, framing Thailand as a regional aggressor and Cambodia as a restrained victim of provocation.
With a lack of opposition, unlike Thailand, the opeds read as rabid state propaganda by another name.
1. Accusations of Thai Political Deflection
Thailand’s claims of Cambodian interference are dismissed as “transparently political” and aimed at deflecting from internal instability.
The op-ed links Thai rhetoric to leaked calls and military dissent, suggesting Cambodia’s leadership critique was a reaction, not interference.
2. Weaponising ASEAN Principles
Khmer Times argues Thailand misapplies ASEAN’s non-interference clause, ignoring its mandate for peaceful resolution and legal clarity.
Cambodia’s calls for ICJ adjudication are framed as lawful diplomacy, not meddling.
3. Malinformation and Map Manipulation
Another piece accuses Thailand of weaponizing unilateral maps to justify military incursions into disputed zones.
Cambodia is portrayed as the victim of misinformation, particularly around landmine incidents, which Thai media allegedly distorted.
4. Emotive Language and Nationalist Framing
Terms like “creeping aggression,” “manufactured outrage,” and “textbook geopolitical deception” are common.
Cambodia’s restraint is emphasized as “sovereign dignity,” while Thailand is cast as a propaganda state.
Meanwhile, Khmer Times analysts have framed the conflict as a geopolitical reckoning, accusing Thailand of orchestrating a coup-like posture through martial law in Chanthaburi and Trat. Thai military units now control border zones, sidelining civilian authority and allegedly targeting opposition parties with IO campaigns.
Critics argue that the army has become not just a national spokesperson—but a digital gatekeeper, shaping public perception with algorithmic precision.
In a searing op-ed, Bangkok Post columnist Kong Rithdee invoked John Lennon’s “Imagine” and Colonel Kurtz’s “the horror” to frame the collapse of journalistic integrity in wartime.
He argued that journalism has become the first casualty in the Thai-Cambodian conflict, drowned out by the “fire-breathing heads” of fascistic influencers, TikTok prophets, and celebrity war pundits.
In this digital jungle, the ethos isn’t “give peace a chance”—it’s “give war a chance,” where happiness is a warm howitzer and likes are the new medals.
Traditional media, he laments, has been banished to the basement of the social media edifice, while the army and its IO units dominate the narrative. The result: a battlefield where truth is performative, and patriotism is algorithmically weaponized.
What’s Next?
As ceasefire talks stall and disinformation spreads, Thailand faces a critical choice: double down on nationalist messaging or open space for dissent and diplomacy. Cambodia faces a longer and rockier road to recover its democratic and media norms now lost.
The keyboard warriors may win likes and shares, but the real victory lies in truth, accountability, and peace.
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