After Russian President Vladimir Putin won a record-breaking fifth term in power, a doctored photo spread online showing him holding a portrait of Thailand’s late King Bhumibol. In the original photo, Putin actually showed a portrait of his father as he took part in Moscow’s Victory Day celebrations in 2015.
The edited image was shared in a TikTok post on May 9, 2024, days after Putin started on a fifth term with more power than ever.
The 71-year-old Kremlin chief, who has ruled Russia since the turn of the century, was given a new six-year mandate in March after winning the presidential election unopposed.
The photo appears to show him holding a portrait of the late Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
It is shown next to a photo of King Maha Vajiralongkorn, Bhumibol’s son, and another photo of Putin.
Russia and Thailand have historically had close ties with the Thai Royal Palace congratulations Putin on his new term (archived link).
The Thai text in white reads: “The Russian leader declares he will not go to war with Thailand out of respect for King Bhumibol.”
The image previously distributed on Facebook in 2022, when several media organizations including BBC ThaiThailand Voice TV and that of Hong Kong Annie Lab pointed out it was fake.
However, some social media users seemed to believe the photo was real.
“I love that Putin doesn’t forget the achievements of the King of Thailand,” one TikTok user commented.
“Long live the king and thank you President Putin of Russia,” wrote another.
Manipulated photo
A reverse image search revealed that the original photo shows Putin holding a portrait of his father.
The photo was taken by Reuters photographer Maxim Shemetov, according to stock photo agency Alamy published The image.
The caption of the photo reads: “Russian President Vladimir Putin holds his father’s portrait as he takes part in the march of the Immortal Regiment on Red Square during the Victory Day celebrations in Moscow, Russia, May 9 2015.”
The March of the Immortal Regiment is a procession in which Russians throughout the country parade through cities every May 9 with portraits of family members who died in World War II.
Below is a screenshot comparison between the manipulated photo in the fake messages (left) and the Reuters photo archived on Alamy (right):
AFP published a similar photo of Putin holding his father’s portrait during the procession.
Moreover, the other photo of Putin and the photo of King Vajiralongkorn shared in the TikTok post are old and have nothing to do with each other.
The photo of the king shows him giving a New Year’s speech on December 31, 2020, while the image of Putin shows himself giving a speech in Moscow on March 23, 2024 after a deadly gun attack on a concert hall (archived link).
