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Following Myanmar’s army raids on rip-off centres in October 2025 that prompted over 1,000 individuals to flee to Thailand, social media customers shared a video of a months-old assault falsely claiming it confirmed one of many cyberscam hubs being bombed. The footage truly depicts an airstrike on a monastery in Indaw, northern Myanmar, in April 2025.
“Oct. 24: Myanmar bombed the scammer constructing in KK Park. The second spherical was louder than the primary. Shrapnel reached Thailand’s Mae Sot district,” reads a Thai-language TikTok publish shared on October 24, 2025.
The caption additionally consists of two hashtags: #ScammersinMyanmar and #MyanmarScammerBuildingExplosion.
The publish — which garnered over 1.9 million views and 64,000 likes — shares a 15-second aerial clip of an explosion at a green-roofed constructing close to a golden stupa, with coordinates on-screen suggesting it was filmed by a drone.
Screenshot of the false TikTok publish, taken on October 27, 2025, with a pink X added by AFP
Different posts sharing the identical video with related claims additionally appeared in Thai-language posts on TikTok and Fb in addition to in English.
Greater than 1,000 individuals, principally Chinese language, have fled from Myanmar into Thailand, Thai authorities mentioned on the day, after the Myanmar army raided one of many nation’s largest rip-off centres (archived hyperlink).
Thai authorities advised AFP that the majority of these had been believed to be from KK Park, a infamous rip-off centre situated in Myanmar’s Myawaddy township.
Sprawling cyberscam hubs, the place fraudsters swindle victims by way of on-line cons, have flourished alongside Myanmar’s loosely ruled border throughout its years-long civil conflict.
AFP distributed pictures of smoke at KK Park seen from Thailand’s aspect on October 24, as native media organisations Thai PBS and The Nation reported that Myanmar’s troops blew up rip-off centres on the complicated (archived right here and right here).
However the circulating aerial footage doesn’t depict the rip-off centre raid as claimed.
Previous bombing video
A reverse picture search utilizing one of many video’s keyframes led to an extended model of the footage shared on a Fb web page of Indaw Revolution, a resistance group in Myanmar, on September 26 (archived right here and right here).
The Burmese-language caption says that it reveals an airstrike on Indaw Myoma Monastery in Sagaing area, Myanmar, on April 1.
Screenshot comparability between the false TikTok publish (L) and Indaw Revolution’s Fb publish
A voice will also be heard saying in Burmese the monastery has collapsed.
By means of additional key phrase searches on Indaw Revolution’s Fb account, AFP discovered a publish from April 1 sharing satellite tv for pc imagery over Indaw Township and saying that two civilians had been killed by the bombings (archived hyperlink).
One other publish on April 4 shared footage of the destroyed monastery (archived hyperlink).
Google Earth satellite tv for pc imagery of the Indaw Township matched parts seen within the false publish, together with the buildings and the pagoda (archived hyperlink).
Screenshot comparability between the circulating footage (L) and the Google Earth imagery, with corresponding options highlighted by AFP
Myanmar Witness, an organisation that reviews on human rights abuses in Myanmar, mentioned on April 1 two Myanmar Air Power fighter jets dropped bombs on Indaw Myoma Monastery (archived hyperlink).
Democratic Voice of Burma additionally reported civilian casualties after the army forces bombed the monastery for 2 consecutive days: April 1 and April 2 (archived hyperlink).
AFP has beforehand debunked misinformation associated to the rip-off centres.
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