APCO Worldwide has a history of using dirty PR tactics on behalf of Southeast Asian politicians. Before being hired by Thailand’s Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit to create a fake organization, Thai Democracy Now, APCO managed the publicity campaigns of Malaysia’s Najib Razak. APCO ran a covert campaign to discredit one of Najib’s adversaries. Discrediting a pro-democracy leader… Continue reading
APCO created a false citizens’ campaign through a fake organization to push the agenda of a Thai politician. A costly advertising campaign On 11 September 2019, two weeks before Thailand Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha’s visit to the UN General Assembly in New York, a completely unknown group called “Thai Democracy Now” started a media campaign…. Continue reading
Boonmee Lab, a Thai data and tech firm founded by data experts mentored by Klaikong Vaidhyakarn, used the shady tactics of Cambridge Analytica to influence the 2019 Thai general election. Boonmee Lab decisively contributed to Future Forward’s election performance. Klaikong’s protégées Thiti Luang, Rapee Suveeranont, and Puripant Ruchikachorn founded Boonmee Lab in mid-2013. They had… Continue reading
“It’s a political miracle”, some said in March 2019. Only 12 months after its foundation, the Future Forward Party won the third largest number of votes in Thailand’s general election. But the miracle was nothing more than a successful Cambridge Analytica-style election meddling. In digital marketing we trust “I believe in social media. We can… Continue reading
Former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra, on the run from corruption charges, was granted Montenegrin citizenship sometimes in 2009. Ten years later the circumstances in which the citizenship was awarded are still murky. Montenegro’s officials have failed to explain how, why and exactly when Thaksin obtained the citizenship of the European Balkan state. One of the… Continue reading
Thai Government used public funds to pay for BGR’s lobbying services on behalf of a third party, businessman and former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. For almost 2 years, from September 2012 to May 2014, Thaksin and Thai Government were represented by the same US lobby firm, BGR Government Affairs. The governing party was Thaksin’s former… Continue reading
