The rise of online hate speech and disinformation in Thailand is having real-world consequences for migrant workers, human rights advocates said, as targeted attacks on social media platforms have intensified in recent years.
Thailand is home to millions of migrant workers, primarily from Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos, who play a crucial role in industries such as construction, agriculture, manufacturing and the service sector. Despite their contribution to the economy, many face harsh working conditions, low wages and limited legal protection.
In recent years, new waves of xenophobia, at times stirred up by online disinformation, have fueled some types of offline discrimination, making their lives even more precarious, civil society groups say.
“We’ve started to see some groups of Thai people, they really have strong messages about migrant workers – direct attacks on migrant workers,” said Koreeyor Manuchae, project coordinator for advocacy organization Migrant Working Group.
Her group had approached representatives of the short-form video-sharing platform TikTok in the hope of finding ways to address the fast-spreading problem of disinformation and hate speech, she said.
“They have screening, but it’s screened by people and there may be human error, lots of things are happening, right?” she said, referring to the vast number of posts per minute on the platform.
“A human can’t stop that type of content 100%.”
TikTok did not respond to a request for comment from Radio Free Asia by the time of publication.
Aung Kyaw, an organizer for the group Labor Rights Foundation, said the impact of online sentiment sometimes resulted in real-world actions that cost migrant workers their jobs.
In Samut Sakhorn, a province south of Thailand’s capital of Bangkok, for example, migrants from Myanmar, who work extensively in fishing and seafood processing, have since last year become targets of increased scrutiny by self-styled immigration vigilantes, most of them social media influencers or members of nationalist groups checking people’s paperwork, according to Aung Kyaw.
Conscription, civil war and economic hardship have been pushing as many as 22,000 Myanmar citizens into Thailand every month, according to a 2024 study from the International Organization for Migration. Up to 7 million Myanmar migrants are now believed to be living in Thailand.
The influencers have at times tipped off authorities who have then conducted raids on factories employing undocumented people resulting in people being arrested and deported, his group said.
“Extreme nationalist groups have been becoming more vocal over the past year and active across the entire country, and even in our neighborhood,” said Aung Kyaw, who is based in Samuk Sakhorn town.
Political rivalry
Koreeyor said some conservatives in Thailand were whipping up hatred of migrants in a bid to undermine support for progressive parties that are more tolerant on immigration.
Saijai Liangpunsakul, founder of Stop Online Harm, also said the problem at least in part stemmed from supporters of conservative parties using migration as an online talking point.
In recent years, there has been growing concern about migration among conservative and nationalist groups, who at times portray migrant laborers as a threat to national security and cultural identity.
For instance, conservative officials and Thai trade unions have historically opposed measures that might grant migrant workers equal labor protection, fearing that could threaten opportunities for Thai workers.
Public opinion surveys in places like Bangkok and in Tak province, on the main border crossing with Myanmar, show that many Thais view migrants, particularly undocumented ones, as competitors for jobs and resources.
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Some groups are trying to encourage netizens to be more mindful of what they see online.
“It comes down to society, to educators and to us as the media not to be conspirators with social media platforms. For example – be more careful in choosing words,” said researcher Nuntiya Doungphummes.
“As our study suggests, the linguistic implications – the word choices – are really important,” Nuntiya said, referring to her team’s research published in 2023 about online discrimination in Thailand.
Addressing hatred came down to education, both on the personal and societal level, she said.
Her team has been working with the Intelligence Center for Elderly Media Literacy for the last five years to train older adults in Thailand to critically analyze material they come across online.
“We created a simple intervention for them to recognize how to be more media literate,” Nuntiya said. “They’re kind of getting better and better in terms of interpreting and believing or not believing pieces of information that they receive.”
Edited by Taejun Kang.
Khin Khin Ei contributed to this report.