On December 20, the Army Military Force Facebook page claimed a Cambodian-led online campaign used AI to forge a fake passport portraying Thai boxing star Sombat “Buakaw” Banchamek as a Cambodian citizen.
According to the page, the AI-generated passport image was part of a Cambodian Information Operation (IO) intended to mislead the Thai public about Buakaw’s nationality.
The page said the same campaign also claimed the fighter avoided facing Cambodian Muay Thai and kickboxing opponents because he did not want to injure what it described as his fellow Cambodians, reported The Nation.
The posts went further by labelling Buakaw as ungrateful to what they called his homeland, alleging he was Cambodian by birth yet falsely presenting himself as Thai, the page stated.
The claims were quickly mocked online by Thai netizens. On the same day, Buakaw’s official Facebook page, Banchamek Gym, shared the Army Military Force post and responded with a short message asking followers whether they really believed it. In the post, he said…
“Dont tell me someone believes this.
If you believe it, press the (considering) emoji.
If you don’t believe it, press the (laughing) emoji”
In a previous post from January 2023, Buakaw clarified that he is a Thai of Kui (or Kuoy) descent, an ethnic group native to northeastern Thailand, not Cambodia. He explained that the Kui people have lived in areas like Ubon Ratchathani and Surin for centuries and are historically known for elephant training. While their roots trace back across the region, including parts of present-day Cambodia, Buakaw emphasised that their identity and cultural ties are firmly embedded in Thai history. He dismissed attempts to label him otherwise as both misleading and disrespectful.
In a seperate news involving a boxer, former Thai boxing world champion Amnat Ruenroeng was caught on video after getting into a fistfight with a young man inside a convenience store while allegedly heavily intoxicated.
The story Cambodia claims Buakaw is a Cambodian citizen as seen on Thaiger News.
