Thai PBS Verify has confirmed this to be fake news. The image used was misattributed and actually depicts the arrest of a suspicious man in Sisaket Province on 25 July 2025.
Upon verification, Thai PBS Verify confirmed that the report constituted fake news involving deliberate distortion and fabrication of both text and imagery.
Thai PBS Verify found the source of fake news from: Facebook.
A screenshot shows a news post by “Fresh News Cambodia” claiming that “Thai soldiers fled, abandoning weapons and corpses at Prasat Ta khwai.”
Thai PBS Verify examined a Facebook post by “Fresh News Cambodia,” a Cambodian media outlet, which carried the headline: “Thai Troops Flee, Abandon Gear and Bodies at Ta Krabei”
The report claimed that:
“Thai forces were seen retreating in chaos from the area around Prasal Ta Krabey, according to battlefield reports. In their hasty withdrawal, they left behind both military equipment and the bodies of fallen Thai soldiers on Cambodian soil.”
The post included an image showing camouflage gear with a Thai national flag label, and was shared more than 30 times.
Upon verifying the image source using Google Lens, it was found that the accompanying photo had been taken from a news report about the arrest of a suspicious man in Ban Nong Mek, Kantharalak District, Sisaket Province, on 25 July 2025 (Recorded Link).
The image shows the verification process using Google Lens, which revealed that the photo matched a post from the “Yasothon Ban Hao” Facebook page.
The image was taken form a news post by the “Yasothon Ban Hao” Facebook page, which showed the apprehension of a suspected man in Sisaket Province by officials and local residents on 25 July 2025. Upon inspection, military-related items were found, including a bulletproof vest, a bag, and a helmet bearing the Thai national flag. The man was later taken to Bueng Malu Police Station in Sisaket for further investigation. (Recorded Link)
A screenshot shows a post from the “Yasothon Ban Hao” Facebook page reporting the apprehension of a suspected man in Sisaket Province
Cambodian Media Created Fake “News-Images.”
In addition, we contracted Police Colonel Pongpipat Hoemchalad, superintendent of Bueng Malu Police Station, who revealed that the image originated from a case reported by local villagers.
They had spotted a man wearing a suspicious military-style uniform riding a motorcycle in the village. Authorities detained him for questioning on 25 July 2025. The image in question shows the equipment found during the inspection. Upon investigation, it was determined that the man merely wished to assist officials. Further inquiries with his relatives confirmed that he was mentally unstable and had been influenced by news of unrest along the Thai-Cambodian border, promoting his desire to help. He was not a Cambodian spy, and has since been released into the care of his family.
Local residents and officials detained a suspected man for questioning on 25 July 2025, and later found that he was merely mentally unstable.
“Regarding the Cambodian news that misrepresented image of military equipment, it is confirmed that the image has no connection to Prasat Ta Khwai, and the man in question is not a Thai soldier,” said Police Colonel Pongpipat.
