KOH PHANGAN — Thai police have charged a 72-year-old woman for spreading false information on social media claiming that American mercenaries were traveling from a southern Thai island to assist Cambodian forces in fighting Thailand, authorities said.
Police on Koh Phangan island said the false reports alleged that Jewish American soldiers were among groups of foreign mercenaries being transported by boat to Cambodia’s Sihanoukville province to join combat operations against Thai troops.
According to investigators, the misinformation circulated online included claims that 180 foreigners on Koh Phangan had hired Thai boat operators to take them to Cambodia, while another 200 foreigners remained on the island.
The posts said the group included Jewish Americans and people of other nationalities and was accompanied by photos showing foreigners carrying luggage in front of a building with Khmer-language signage.
The posts further claimed the foreigners were mercenaries working for Cambodia’s powerful Hun family and were specialists in military drone operations. Police said their investigation found the claims to be entirely false and unsupported by any evidence.
Authorities said they were ordered on Dec. 13 to trace the source of the social media posts after they began circulating widely. Investigators determined the first messages were shared at about 1 p.m. on December 12 from a house in Koh Phangan district via a LINE messaging group with 270 members. The content was later...
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