As activists marked the fourth anniversary of Myanmar’s army coup on February 1, 2025, outdated protest photographs in Thailand circulated on-line alongside a false declare that Burmese migrant employees have been rallying to “demand a 20 US {dollars} day by day minimal wage.” The photographs are from protests in 2021 and 2024, and AFP discovered no credible experiences of Burmese migrant employees rallying to demand a pay enhance.
“At present: Burmese employees in Thailand obtained too boastful; they marched to protest in entrance of the UN workplace,” says a Thai-language Facebook post revealed February 1.
“These Burmese employees demand a 700-baht minimal wage. If any wealthy corporations need to pay them, positive … However even Thai employees are nonetheless scuffling with simply 400 baht a day.”
The publish consists of three photos of protest scenes with Myanmar’s nationwide flag seen within the crowd.
Screenshot of the false Fb publish taken February 4, 2025
The publish accrued greater than 9,000 likes and over 15,000 shares. Different posts sharing the identical photos unfold elsewhere on Facebook.
On February 1, Thai and Burmese activists gathered outdoors the Myanmar Embassy in Bangkok to commemorate the fourth anniversary of the army coup.
Lillian SUWANRUMPHAAFP
Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP
In the meantime, Thai nationalist group Thais Received’t Tolerate held a protest outdoors the UN workplace to oppose alleged calls for from Myanmar migrant employees (archived link).
The activists claimed Myanmar employees have been pushing for a “600-700 Thai baht” (USD$17-20) minimal wage — greater than the Thai minimal wage of 400 baht (USD$11.87) per day.
Nevertheless, the three photographs shared on-line are outdated and unrelated to latest occasions.
First photograph
A reverse image search on Google discovered two of the photographs have been taken at previous demonstrations and initially revealed by Milk Tea Alliance Thailand, a pro-democracy activist group energetic since 2020.
The group initially revealed the primary photograph to X on February 28, 2021 with the caption: “Battle for democracy” (archived link).
A consultant from the group confirmed to AFP on February 2, 2025 that the picture was taken throughout a protest on February 28, 2021, throughout which demonstrators marched from Victory Monument to then-Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha’s residence in Bangkok (archived link).
Amongst the two,000 demonstrators was a bunch of migrant employees from Myanmar protesting the army coup.
Screenshot comparability between a photograph shared within the false publish (L) and the unique photograph shared by Milk Tea Alliance Thailand in 2021
Second photograph
Milk Tea Alliance Thailand posted the second image on Fb throughout a separate demonstration (archived link).
“This photograph was taken throughout an August 16, 2021, protest towards the Thai and Myanmar dictatorships,” a consultant of Milk Tea Alliance Thailand advised AFP.
Screenshot comparability between a photograph shared within the false publish (L) and the unique photograph shared by Milk Tea Alliance Thailand in 2021
Anti-government protestors marched towards the Thai prime minister’s property in Bangkok to demand his resignation over his alleged mishandling of the Covid-19 pandemic (archived link).
Third photograph
The third image traces again to an X post revealed June 1, 2024 (archived link). Its caption consists of #BangkokPride2024.
Screenshot comparability between a photograph shared within the false publish (L) and the unique photograph from the 2024 Bangkok Delight parade
A delight parade took place in Bangkok on June 1, 2024, throughout which protesters known as for LGBTQ+ rights, marriage equality and different political causes, together with democracy in Myanmar and the Palestinian territories.
The X person shared metadata with AFP that confirms the photograph was taken in Bangkok on June 1, 2024.
No experiences of 700-baht wage protest
AFP discovered no credible experiences of Burmese migrant employees protesting for a day by day minimal wage of 700 baht in Thailand.
Adisorn Kerdmongkol, supervisor of the Migrant Working Group (MWG), confirmed to AFP on February 4 that there have been “no experiences” of such a motion.
Forward of the coup anniversary, Veera Sangthong, an activist from the Myanmar labour rights group Brilliant Future, advised AFP he submitted a petition with six calls for to the United Nations in Bangkok on January 30.
The petition known as for recognizing the “Pink Card” (a non-Thai ID) as a legitimate doc for migrant employees, supporting humanitarian support on the Myanmar border and urging the United Nations to boycott Myanmar’s 2025 election.
“Nowhere within the calls for did Myanmar employees name for a 700-baht minimal wage,” Sangthong mentioned.
Screenshot of Brilliant Future’s petition submitted to the United Nations, offered to AFP by Veera Sangthong
The “600-700 baht” narrative seems to stem from a remark Sangthong reportedly made throughout an Worldwide Migrants Day protest in December 2022. Nevertheless, it didn’t mirror any official demand from Myanmar employees (archived link).
In line with Thailand’s Ministry of Labour, Thailand’s day by day minimal wage ranges from 337 to 400 baht, efficient January 1, 2025 (archived link).
