DES Ministry to escalate measures to counter fake news through AFNC

This move comes after DES Minister Prasert Jantararuangtong chaired a meeting of senior ministry executives on Wednesday. The AFNC will be responsible for monitoring, verifying, and proactively addressing false information.

The centre's role involves close collaboration with key agencies such as the National Security Council, the Public Relations Department, the Royal Thai Police, the Ministry of Interior, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The centre will operate 24 hours a day, ensuring continuous monitoring and verification of social media content.

According to the AFNC, from November 2019 to July 31, 2025, over 1.18 billion messages were processed, with nearly 2.3 million of these flagged as suspicious and subject to investigation.

A total of 41,882 cases were examined, covering areas such as government policy, national security, health news, economics, online crime, and disasters. Of these, 7,714 were confirmed as false, 8,577 were accurate, 2,456 were misleading, and 2,875 lacked sufficient information.

Prasert emphasised the government's concern regarding the impact of fake news on both society and the economy, particularly information that distorts facts, misleads the public, or incites violence.

The AFNC’s role is not only to block false news but also to clarify the truth to the public, in collaboration with social media platforms to prevent the spread of harmful misinformation, especially when it affects national security.

Furthermore, Prasert has warned about the consequences of importing or distorting data within computer systems, including the fabrication or sharing of false news. This act is punishable under Section 14 of the Computer Crime Act, which carries penalties of up to five years in prison, a fine of up to 100,000 baht, or both, and is non-compoundable.

Prasert also revealed that, during the recent tensions between Thailand and Cambodia, a large amount of fake news circulated online, particularly on Meta’s platforms. Thailand has already held initial discussions with the company to request cooperation in five key areas:

• Strengthening the verification of fake news between both countries
• Increasing the number of personnel to monitor content
• Using AI technology to detect AI-generated content that exhibits IO characteristics
• Employing AI to analyse suspicious behaviour, such as accounts with unusually high comment activity
• Requiring advertisers to verify their identities to ensure accountability

These efforts highlight the Thai government's systematic and sustainable approach to addressing the fake news problem, using collaborative mechanisms from both domestic and international sectors.

Prasert further mentioned the APEC 2025 Digital and AI Ministerial Meeting in Incheon, South Korea, where Thailand participated in discussions on cybersecurity, as well as measures to combat fake news and cybercrime, particularly the ongoing issue of call centre scams causing widespread harm.