Many have heard the phrase 'the first casualty of war is truth'. Of course there's no reason to think that reality would be different in this conflict between Thailand and Cambodia. Spin doctors work on each side trying to influence the mainstream news reporting - that's normal.

 

What's not normal, however, is that some of that propaganda is being published by, otherwise, respectable media outlets without any obvious fact-checking or standard journalistic rigor, or even publishing quotes that counter the main takeaway of an article's content. It just repeats what the spin doctors on one side have uttered. There are big international spin companies that make a profit on advising governments in their approaches to spin during conflict with another country - Hill & Knowlton is the best known, but I'm not suggesting they have been contracted by either side in this conflict.

 

Whether it's just each side's own psy-op groups stage managing and churning this stuff out, or whether a professional, seasoned, international company has been recruited to do it, there's no doubt much of what we're reading and being informed about this conflict is deliberate spin designed to influence (and maybe fan hatred) unlike the other straight-up news reporting.  

 

For example, while I usually like reading KhaoSod English, its FB page looks increasingly like a propaganda mouthpiece. It's not alone of course.

 

I support Thailand, but KhaoSodEnglish's more recent style and tone of reporting, often without citation, is disappointing. I can understand some of the other Thai media following that path or the monotonous drone of Sorayuth each morning on Ch3 going on and on about this conflict to his huge daily audience.

 

But come on KhaoSod English - do better.. 

 

 https://www.facebook.com/KhaosodEnglish/ 

I always understood it to be:

"Sassoon! The first casualty of war is your haircut!"