Photo of an Arsenal football player is used to falsely claim foreign interference in Thai pro-democracy protests

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An image has been shared multiple times on Facebook in December 2020, alongside a claim it shows a Lebanese lieutenant and his brother who are hired to work as personal bodyguards for Thai student leader Parit “Penguin” Chiwarak. However, this claim is false; the photo collage originates from a satirical article; the figure pictured in the second photo is Arsenal footballer Hector Bellerin at London’s Wembley Stadium in August 2020.

The photograph collage was shared here on Facebook on December 4, 2020 .
The post consists of two photos : the first shows two men in black balaclava behind Thai democracy activist Parit “ Penguin ” Chiwarak and the second claims to show a close-up visualize of one of the men.

Screenshot of the misinform post, taken on December 8, 2020 The Thai handwriting on the second gear photograph says : “ Lieutenant Hector Beres. ”
The Thai-language post translates to English as : “ This Lieutenant Hector Beres is a former commissioned lieutenant of Lebanon. He has gone through many hardships in his life. The United States bought him to fight in the Iraq war, he had precise fritter skills, and killed many people in terrorist attacks correct at their doorsill. After the Iraq war, he became a personal guard of George Soros for many years .
“ Since Thailand has had respective protests, Thaksin bought him to become a personal guard for Penguin, with his brother. The Thai security system must be rigid, it must investigate what these foreigners are actually doing in Thailand. ”
“ Thaksin ” refers to former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted by a military coup d’etat in September 2006 .
According to this September 17, 2020, report by the Bangkok Post, many royalists have protested at the US embassy build in Bangkok recently “ to ask the US to stop supporting scholar rallies ” and accusing the US of “ intervening ” in the ongoing pro-democracy movements in the state .
many Facebook users appeared to believe the photograph show a alien national protecting the scholar drawing card, with one comment : “ Withdraw their visa ” .
And another wrote : “ Protecting the puppeteer ” .
Screenshot of Facebook comments The pair of photos besides appear with a exchangeable call in other Facebook posts such as this, this and this .
Original post
A keyword search found that the photograph collage and the caption originate from this December 3, 2020, post on Buddha SodaLime, a Facebook page hat posts satirical content.

The page is described as a “ comedian ” .
Below is a screenshot of the picture on the Buddha SodaLime Facebook page :
Screenshot of the original military post on Facebook foliate Buddha SodaLime
Photo of footballer
A revoke picture research on Google of the second photograph in the mislead posts found it actually shows Hector Bellerin, a Spanish-born football player presently contracted to Arsenal Football Club .
The photograph, credited to Getty Images, was found in this report by SportsPro Media, a London-based fun industry web site, dated September 8, 2020 .
Headlined “ Hector Bellerin becomes Forest Green ’ s second biggest stockholder ”, the article reads, in part : “ spanish soccer external Hector Bellerin has become the second largest stockholder in English fourth-tier outfit Forest Green Rovers. ”
AFP besides located the photograph, dated August 1, 2020, here on the web site of Getty Images photograph agency .
Below is a screenshot of the photograph on the Getty Images web site :
Screenshot of the photograph on the Getty Images web site The photograph caption reads, in part : “ FA Cup Final / LONDON, ENGLAND – AUGUST 01 : of Arsenal during the FA Cup Final match between Arsenal and Chelsea at Wembley Stadium on August 01, 2020 in London, England. Football Stadiums around Europe remain empty ascribable to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social outdistance laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in all fixtures being played behind close doors. ”
Below is a screenshot comparison between the photograph in the deceptive post ( L ) and the Getty Images photograph ( R ) :

Screenshot comparison between the photograph in the misinform station ( L ) and the Getty Images photograph ( R ) In answer to the misinform posts, Parit “ Penguin ” Chiwarak told AFP via telephone on December 7, 2020, that his bodyguards are not lebanese, but “ half-Thai ” .
“ I can ’ t tell you everything because of confidentiality purposes, but the security guard is a shuffle Thai, ” he said .