The Rise of Political Radicalization Using Social Media in Thailand
Social media is a double-edged sword, especially in a country with one of the strictest lèse-majesté laws in the world.
After a Facebook Live session in January, former opposition leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit of the Future Forward Party was officially charged with lèse-majesté by the Thai Police this Tuesday.
With a long, complicated history with politics, social media has become a decisive battleground in Thailand. Accounting for nearly 80% of the Thai population, the 55 million Thai people on social media are increasingly influenced by online channels from both political sides.
As both royalists and pro-democracy activists use the internet to inform, organize, and fight for their agenda, social media becomes the decisive battleground for control over the future of Thailand. Here’s how it started.
Lèse-majesté Laws in the Digital Age
When the military took over in the 2014 coup, it began to enforce harsher punishment for critics of its monarchy and government.
Article 112 of Thailand’s criminal code states that anyone who defames, insults, or threatens the monarchy will be incarcerated for up…
