An old photo of Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn cooking amid the Covid-19 pandemic has surfaced in social media posts. The photo falsely claimed to show the king preparing food for victims of severe flooding caused by Typhoon Yagi in September 2024. In fact, the photo was released by the royal office in June 2021 and shows the king and his noble wife Sineenat Bilaskalayani in Bangkok, rather than flood-hit Chiang Rai in the north.
“He didn’t need to be highlighted by the media or anyone else to officially welcome him. He flew himself to Mae Sai district by helicopter and went to the kitchen to cook meals with his own fortune. He is a real giver and really cares about the Thai people,” said a Thai-speaking Facebook post on September 13, 2024.
Mae Sai District is the northernmost district in Thailand’s Chiang Rai province, bordering Myanmar. Along with Vietnam, the Southeast Asian neighbors have been hit by severe flooding after Typhoon Yagi tore through the region leaving more than 500 dead (archived link).
The floods in Chiang Rai were the worst in 80 years.
The attached photo of King Vajiralongkorn and royal noble consort Sineenat cooking in a pan has collected over 62,000 likes and 5,300 shares since its publication.
The news surfaced after Thai newspaper Matichon reported reported King Vajiralongkorn had ordered his privy council to deliver survival kits to flood victims in another northern Thai province, Phitsanulok (archived link).
The same photo was shared with similar false claims on Facebook here And hereon TikTok hereand on X here.
But there are no official reports from the Thai monarch’s palace on a trip to Chiang Rai to oversee flood relief efforts from September 18, 2024 (archived link).
Photo of Covid-19 pandemic
A reverse search on Google led to the same photo that was on the official website from the Royal Office of Thailand on June 12, 2021 (archived link).
The report also included several photos of the king and his noble royal consort, and said they visited a kitchen at Bangkok’s Dusit Palace to prepare meals for medical staff treating Covid-19 patients.
“His Majesty the King prepared the food himself, such as noodles with stewed pork and chicken… they are all nutritious and healthy dishes, especially those containing herbs such as fingerroot, which help fight Covid-19.
“The meals would boost the immunity of doctors so that they can continue to perform their duties in treating patients,” the report said.
Below is a screenshot comparing the image in the fake message (left) with the photo published on the Royal Office’s website (right):
Thai news channels Spring news And Manager also published the same photo of the King cooking, alongside their reports of the royals preparing food for medics on June 12, 2021 (archived links) here And here).
AFP has debunked other misinformation about the floods in northern Thailand here, here And here.
