Thai PM denies ordering reopening of Cambodian border, blames AI

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has denied viral reports claiming that he ordered the reopening of Thai-Cambodian border checkpoints, saying an audio clip shared by Cambodian influencers was clearly generated using artificial intelligence.

Anutin dismissed the clip as fake and urged the public not to believe it.

“That is clearly AI. I do not even speak that fluently,” he said, adding: “Please do not believe it. I never said those things, and there will definitely be no border reopening.”

The audio clip, widely shared on social media platforms including TikTok, purportedly featured Anutin discussing plans to reopen border checkpoints in June after tensions along the Thai-Cambodian border had eased.

Meanwhile, Thai PBS Verify examined the clip and transcribed portions of the recording, which included remarks suggesting that border checkpoints would reopen in early June to support the economy, although not all crossings would resume operations.

The fact-checking unit reported that searches for related news about a planned June 2026 border reopening found no credible reports supporting the claim.

Thai PBS Verify also analysed the audio using AI detection tools, including the Hiya Deepfake Voice Detector and Hive Moderation.

Both tools indicated a high likelihood that the voice recording had been artificially generated.

The findings were consistent with Anutin’s earlier remarks following an ASEAN meeting on May 9, when he said there had been no discussions regarding the reopening of Thai-Cambodian border checkpoints.

Thai PBS Verify concluded that the clip likely constituted false information that could mislead the public about the current border situation.