Claim that Macron knelt before Thai king denied
An official from Thailand’s foreign ministry confirmed the image was AI-generated.
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An official from Thailand’s foreign ministry confirmed the image was AI-generated.
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BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — Thailand’s foreign ministry denied Thursday that French President Emmanuel Macron knelt before the country’s king during his state visit to Paris this week, after an artificial intelligence-generated picture circulated online.
King Maha Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida’s trip was the first official visit by a Thai monarch to France since 1960, marking the 170th anniversary of formal diplomatic relations between the two nations.
During a state dinner at the presidential palace, Macron presented the 73-year-old king with the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor — France’s highest award — and Queen Suthida with the Grand Cross of the National Order of Merit, according to Thai media.
An image widely circulated online in Thailand purported to show Macron kneeling as he presented the awards.
One Thai-language Facebook post showing the image on Wednesday garnered more than 40,000 likes and more than 2,000 shares by the following day.
The post was also shared by a page with more than two million followers that frequently publishes pro-military and nationalist commentary.
One commenter on the post said: “I’m so happy and deeply touched that France, a country far wealthier and more developed than ours, still places such importance on our country.”
Another described Macron as “so charming” and said he had “completely won over Thai hearts with this.”
But an official from Thailand’s foreign ministry confirmed the image was AI-generated.
