UK and US news outlets have fallen victim to an AI-generated hoax after publishing reports that Thai police dressed in drag to arrest a drug dealer.
The story originated on the Facebook page of Tha Luang police station in Thailand and was picked up by the New York Post and UK titles including the Telegraph, Sun, Mirror, GB News and Express.
The story appeared on the front page of the Daily Star print edition.
The Sun said: “Undercover cops have caught a drug dealer by dressing in drag and pretending to be in a glitzy dance troupe.
“The burly crew of five men and one woman slipped into skin tight sequins and feathers for the covert mission in Thailand.”
The Sun has since updated its story with no admission of the earlier mistake.
The Telegraph similarly reported the story as fact stating: “Police caught the suspect, Mekha Fa-wap-wap, with more than 53 pills of methamphetamine.”
The other outlets caught out similarly reported the story and most have, at the time of writing, not amended or removed their online articles. GB News has taken its version down.
Press Gazette spoke to a Thailand-based agency editor who investigated the story after the Facebook post began trending locally earlier this week.
They did not wish to be named but shared an interview transcript with Tha Luang police superintendent Panthep Panadit who said: “The image showing police officers wearing drag-style costumes while arresting the suspect was created using AI software.
“As for why they were wearing that, I honestly don’t know either. I wasn’t the one who posted it. Someone sent it to me to have a look at.”
The editor added: “Common sense would dictate that four middle-aged men in dresses standing in a line of carnival dancers is hardly undercover. It’s also not protocol to ever have civilians in the mug shot pictures, so the female dancer sitting there immediately rings alarm bells.”
An updated Facebook post from the Thai police station now includes the original, undoctored image and states (according to the Facebook auto translation): “The real one is here, everyone. It’s AI. I inform you.”
The Singapore-based Straits Times quotes police sergeant Rchata Mitrsuripong as being responsible for the hoax: “I wanted to create a friendlier image of the police, showing a cute and humorous side, so that people would feel more comfortable approaching officers.”
This is the latest in a series of apparently fake stories appearing in the UK press generated with the help of AI. Explore Press Gazettte’s extensive coverage of this issue in our Reality Wars section.
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