Wiroj to Pursue Legal Action Against Slanderous Information Operations

Bangkok: Wiroj declared that he accepts constructive criticism and doesn't mind harsh comments, but he will not tolerate information operations (IO) comments that slander the party, as this is clearly illegal. He is currently compiling a list of accounts to file a complaint with the Election Commission and report them under the Computer Crime Act.

According to Thai News Agency, Mr. Wiroj Lakkhanaadisorn, Deputy Leader of the People's Party and candidate for MP on the party list, addressed the campaign to destroy and spread false information about the People's Party on social media. He stated that he has always respected the rights and freedoms of the people to express their opinions. He acknowledged that many times the mistakes were made by the party, and he accepted the criticism. The party always takes responsibility and makes corrections and improvements. However, there have been instances of IO (Information Operations), fake accounts, and the creation of farmed pages, as well as the use of influencers to repeatedly produce and spread misinformation about the People's Party, which clearly violates Election Law Section 73(5). The team has collected the accounts that commented on every news item and post and found that the comments contained repetitive messages, sometimes modified, but the content remained the same. He hopes that they will be able to trace the political groups behind this, as every comment leaves an electronic trace.

Mr. Viroj stated that while they had accepted harsh language in the past, what was happening now was a coordinated campaign to defame the party with false statements, not natural criticism. For example, regarding security issues, such as the proposal to remove all fences if Mr. Nattapong Ruangpanyawut were Prime Minister, Mr. Nattapong had never conceived such an idea and never gave any interviews expressing such statements. They were also attacking the party politically by using Article 112 of the Criminal Code, a law concerning the monarchy, falsely claiming that the People's Party had a policy to amend this law, even though the Constitutional Court's ruling clearly stated that Article 112 cannot be used as a policy of a political party. Worst of all, they were attempting to mislead the public into believing that amending the constitution equates to amending Article 112 of the Criminal Code.

Another case involves Mr. Nattapong, the party leader, who received a heartfelt letter from a low-ranking soldier affected by the war and his living conditions. These groups then distorted the truth, accusing it of being a staged event, with various affiliated pages amplifying and sharing the posts.

Mr. Viroj further stated that similar incidents have not only occurred with Mr. Nattapong, but also with several other party candidates, such as former MP Mr. Pattarapong Leelaphat, who was falsely accused by his former assistant. These actions were then used by this group to exaggerate and distort the truth, even though the court had already ruled Mr. Pattarapong innocent. Furthermore, despite the court's verdict being presented, there has been no apology, and the false statements have not been removed to this day. Therefore, it is confirmed that the actions of this group demonstrate a deliberate and intentional violation of election laws and the repeated undermining of democracy.

Furthermore, Mr. Suphakorn Tantipaiboonthana was also falsely accused of inviting people to gamble online, which is untrue. The party has already compiled information from the pages and user accounts of these various movements, including pages such as "Chakrawan Dom Som" and "Malangtad". Gossipy public health officers, especially those in the public health sector, whose content and posts contain almost nothing related to public health.