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In Praise of the King: 1.7M Social Media Comments In Thailand

Posted by timothy on from the shaft-of-gold-when-all-around-is-dark dept.

An anonymous reader writes with this excerpt from Prachatai.com: "Thailand's Rangers Task Force 45, in response to Army policy, has put its troops to the task of promoting and protecting the monarchy in cyber space, claiming to have posted 1.69 million comments on webboards and social media during a 4-month period of last year ... According to the video clip, the Army Chief has approved the establishment of an army internet network to promote and protect the monarchy by monitoring websites and webboards which have content alluding to the monarchy and countering them by posting comments which worship the institution. ...The unit's military operations personnel provide the troops with information, or what to post, and set them targets for the number of posts they must complete."

6 of 104 comments (clear)

  1. in the US by Kohath · · Score: 2, Insightful

    we have Media Matters Action Network, NBC, NPR, the Washington Post, the AP, and the New York Times for this.

    1. Re:in the US by WGFCrafty · · Score: 3, Insightful

      we have Media Matters Action Network, NBC, NPR, the Washington Post, the AP, and the New York Times for this.

      It's like people have forgotten what a real state run press is like. This is not insightful just one of the obligatory cynical remarks which abound here. Besides, several of the places you posted have extensive critical commentaries about recent revelations.

    2. Re:in the US by NettiWelho · · Score: 2, Insightful

      we just get audited by the IRS.

      And get your email and phonecalls monitored by the rest of the alphabet soup agencies.
      Or get legally droned if your government states that they consider you to be engaged in combat with them.
      Or get legally held indefintaly without a trial or a charge if you fit the criteria they themselves come up with.
      Also you jail most people in the world; in historical perspective only Nazi-Germany and USSR had more prisoners in proportion to population. That should be telling.

  2. in the US by Kohath · · Score: 3, Insightful

    we just get audited by the IRS.

  3. Re:Hmm by interval1066 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Thailand is a dictatorship only in as much as the people want it to be. I've spent a lot of time there, and aside from some really rediculous laws concerned with disrespecting his likeness (which are more institutional rather than by his command) the Thai monarchy is hardly what I would call dictatorial. If you go spit on the King's picture in a resturaunt they'll call the police, but its not becuase the King himself decreed it or would give a shit, its just on the books. The PM (currently some guy named Shinawatra, which is like "Smith" in Anglo countries) hold way more power.

    --
    Python: 'And then suddenly you have a language which says "we're all stuck with whatever the whiniest coder wants".'
  4. Obligatory by Stormwatch · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I fart in king Bhumibol's general direction. His mother was a binturong and his father smelt of durians.

    --
    Circumcision is child abuse.