Bangkok bomb: 'Facebook Prophet' denies he authored online augur

[webfact]

'Facebook Prophet' Denies He Authored Online Augur
By Khaosod English


As police officials look on, the Bangkok press corps listens to Pongpob Boonsaree's account of how he came to post a Facebook message predicting an incident would happen in Bangkok days before Monday's deadly bomb attack.

BANGKOK — The man behind a Facebook post that purportedly predicted the deadly bombing in central Bangkok four days in advance met with police to affirm his innocence in the plot.

Before answering police questions at Bangkok’s Technology Crime Suppression Division, Pongpob Boonsaree, 36, told reporters this afternoon he wasn’t the original author of the seemingly prescient message and only reposted it out of anxiety.

“I was suspicious from the message, and I felt that something bad may happen, and I was worried about ordinary people, so I reposted the message on my Facebook,” Pongpob said, flanked by officers. “I didn’t expect that something would really happen.”

Pongpob confirmed he is indeed Facebook user “Wichawate Pornpromraksa,” which posted a status on Thursday warning people in Bangkok to beware of an unspecified incident between Friday and Tuesday.


Original message warning of unspecified incident and warning Bangkok residents to be careful.

Four days later, a powerful bomb struck the popular Erawan Shrine in downtown Bangkok, killing 20 people and injuring more than 150.

Full story: http://www.khaosodenglish.com/detail.php?newsid=1439984337&typecate=06&section=


-- Khaosod English 2015-08-20

[Thai at Heart]

I guess he's going to get a lot of business for lottery tickets. This is seriously a lead? My lordy lord

[jaywalker]

au·ger

ˈôɡər/

noun

1. a tool with a helical bit for boring holes in wood.

   • a tool with a large helical bit for boring holes in the ground.

---------

I'm confused.

???

Edited August 19, 2015 by jaywalker

[Reigntax]

au·ger

ˈôɡər/

noun

• a tool with a helical bit for boring holes in wood.

• a tool with a large helical bit for boring holes in the ground.

---------

I'm confused.

???

No, you're not confused. Someone else is screwing with the language! Edited August 19, 2015 by Reigntax

[webfact]

augur

ˈɔːɡə/

verb

verb: augur; 3rd person present: augurs; past tense: augured; past participle: augured; gerund or present participle: auguring

• synonyms:

• bode; Moreportend, herald, be a sign of, be an indication of, be a warning of, warn of, forewarn of, be an omen of, be a harbinger of, foreshadow, presage, indicate, signify, signal, point to, promise, threaten, spell, denote;
  foretell, forecast, predict, prophesy, prognosticate, divine, foresee;
  literarybetoken, foretoken, forebode, harbinger;
  archaicforeshow, previse;
  archaicspae;
  rarevaticinate, auspicate
  "their recent successes augur well for the future"

noun

noun: augur; plural noun: augurs

1. 1.
   (of an event or circumstance) portend a good or bad outcome."the end of the cold war seemed to augur well"
   1. • portend or bode (a specified outcome)."they feared that these happenings augured a neo-Nazi revival"
      • archaic
        foresee or predict.
   2. 
      
      
   • synonyms:
   • seer, soothsayer, fortune teller, crystal gazer, clairvoyant, psychic, visionary, prognosticator, diviner, prophesier, prophet, prophetess, oracle, sibyl, sage, wise man, wise woman
   1. 1.
      (in ancient Rome) a religious official who observed natural signs, especially the behaviour of birds, interpreting these as an indication of divine approval or disapproval of a proposed action.

[Reigntax]

The RTP should have their own television show.

Maybe "pickabox" or "true or false" or "im the police,get me out of here" or "mix and match". Better still, " tellie tubbies"

[cornishcarlos]

I think this is a good lead to follow... If, as he says, someone else posted this message and he copied it, why aren't the RTP trying to trace that poster ?

Not uncommon for someone involved to release a warning in advance..

[jaywalker]

augur

ˈɔːɡə/

verb

verb: augur; 3rd person present: augurs; past tense: augured; past participle: augured; gerund or present participle: auguring

• synonyms:

• bode; Moreportend, herald, be a sign of, be an indication of, be a warning of, warn of, forewarn of, be an omen of, be a harbinger of, foreshadow, presage, indicate, signify, signal, point to, promise, threaten, spell, denote;

  foretell, forecast, predict, prophesy, prognosticate, divine, foresee;

  literarybetoken, foretoken, forebode, harbinger;

  archaicforeshow, previse;

  archaicspae;

  rarevaticinate, auspicate

  "their recent successes augur well for the future"

noun

noun: augur; plural noun: augurs

1. 1.

   (of an event or circumstance) portend a good or bad outcome.

   "the end of the cold war seemed to augur well"
   1. • portend or bode (a specified outcome)."they feared that these happenings augured a neo-Nazi revival"
      • archaic

        foresee or predict.

   • synonyms:
   • seer, soothsayer, fortune teller, crystal gazer, clairvoyant, psychic, visionary, prognosticator, diviner, prophesier, prophet, prophetess, oracle, sibyl, sage, wise man, wise woman
   1. 1.

      (in ancient Rome) a religious official who observed natural signs, especially the behaviour of birds, interpreting these as an indication of divine approval or disapproval of a proposed action.

My apologies. Thanks for the info.

[webfact]

Facebook user who warned of Bangkok bomb attack questioned by police

BANGKOK, 20 August 2015 (NNT) – A man who posted messages warning Facebook users of imminent bomb attacks in Bangkok has reported to police to explain the posts, which he said were based on information acquired from other social media posts.

Mr. Phongphop Bunsari, who posted the warnings using the Facebook user account named Witchawet Phonphomraksa, told police he only wanted to warn people of the imminent attacks and that all of the information posted was acquired from other social media sources.

Police did not press charges against Mr. Phongphop as they have not yet found that the man has committed any offense. Investigators will search the home of Mr. Phongphop to look through his computer for relevant information.

Police indicated that once found and interrogated, the person responsible for the original social media posts could be charged with being an accomplice in the atrocious Ratchaprasong bombing, which killed 20 and injured over 100 people on August 17.


-- NNT 2015-08-20

[PM1]

He looks semi retarded but seems to fit in well

I would not listen to one word he said

[Charlie Croker]

I think many of the TV posters are missing the point. I don't think the police are going to be considering a softly softly approach unless they are fully convinced he is innocent.

I think he may have more information than he is letting on.

Did any of you receive this indiscriminate warning of dire circumstances occurring?

[zaphod reborn]

He looks semi retarded but seems to fit in well

I would not listen to one word he said

And why would you? He admits he's a redshirt. Seems like Thaksin, Yingluck and crew were stirring the pot over the weekend, no doubt, miffed about the success of the Bike for Mom event. Not that the reds necessarily had anything to do with the bombing, but certainly they may have stirred up some trouble. Anything to take away from the media's coverage of the group bicycling record being broken.

Edited August 20, 2015 by zaphod reborn

[RJF]

I guess he's going to get a lot of business for lottery tickets. This is seriously a lead? My lordy lord

With all due respect, if someone warns on social media that a bad event will happen in Bangkok within a time frame of 4 days, and then something very bad indeed happens within those 4 days, I would expect the authorities to want to have a word with that person, no?

[timmyp]

I wish they would have made the screenshot of the post a little more visible.

I looked up this story in the Thai news. The actual prophetic post is pretty garbled at the end and doesn't really make sense. I'm guessing that's why they didn't bother to translate the message. It more-or-less says, is a very awkward way,

Urgent, very urgent! Be very careful this 14-18th. I tell you just this. I repeat: Be aware of what’s around you.

The last part is really nonsensical, but has words you tell meet together.

I don’t believe in fortune telling, or that this guy had any special info as a Red Shirt, but the first part is certainly ominous in light of what took place, if you believe in that sort of silliness. I suppose there is probably someone somewhere at any point in time saying that something horrible is about to happen. Once something horrible actually occurs, we can point to that lucky prophet and say, "His vague prophecy was right! He must have special powers!"

Great opportunity arrest someone in the opposition and intimidate them, though.

[taony]

I could tell he's innocent, no one is pointing at him in the picture.

[smedly]

I wish they would have made the screenshot of the post a little more visible.

I looked up this story in the Thai news. The actual prophetic post is pretty garbled at the end and doesn't really make sense. I'm guessing that's why they didn't bother to translate the message. It more-or-less says, is a very awkward way,

Urgent, very urgent! Be very careful this 14-18th. I tell you just this. I repeat: Be aware of what’s around you.

The last part is really nonsensical, but has words you tell meet together.

I don’t believe in fortune telling, or that this guy had any special info as a Red Shirt, but the first part is certainly ominous in light of what took place, if you believe in that sort of silliness. I suppose there is probably someone somewhere at any point in time saying that something horrible is about to happen. Once something horrible actually occurs, we can point to that lucky prophet and say, "His vague prophecy was right! He must have special powers!"

Great opportunity arrest someone in the opposition and intimidate them, though.

for me this guy definitely heard something from someone through the grapevine and either blabbed his mouth thinking he would gain some notoriety or he has a conscience, either way he has landed himself in a whole pile of (deleted), now he has a big problem which won't end well no matter what he says or does

[user82374298374]

Where is the original post he claims he was citing?

[anto]

See the expressions of the Police arround him .They dont look too impressed .He defenitely is a person of interest,and could lead to others .

[Jonmarleesco]

'Four days later, a powerful bomb struck the popular Erawan Shrine in downtown Bangkok, killing 20 people and injuring more than 150.' For God's sake, how many more different numbers? Can the media not refrain from publishing figures, about which they evidently have no real idea, until they have more accurate data?

[facthailand]

Okay, I don't use Fakebook. But anybody who's 'real' has no need of a pseudonym.

Own it, if you have an opinion! And use a VPN, for gosh sake!

[Puwa]

The press article does a disservice to this line of inquiry by using the term "Facebook prophet," which trivializes many aspects of the lead that are in fact worthy of investigation.

The story he gave the police is that he was a member of a FB political discussion group. He saw a warning message, which was only posted online for a few seconds, and then copied and pasted it as his own status update. A few hours after the blast, he posted an "I told you so" message, including "check to make sure none of our people got hurt." Again, his explanation is that he simply reposted as his own a status what he found on FB. The originals, he said, were immediately deleted. He also says that the pseudonym he used, which refers to the Erawan Shrine, or perhaps just Lord Brahma, was mere coincidence. He brought a lawyer along to the police interview and press conference. Reports on what happened after that are not so clear. The cops said at the time that they had not pressed any charges. The next move was that they were going to search his house and hard drive in Chachoengsao. Although I did find one article saying that he would not be detained, I haven't seen anything about his being released, either. Nor have i seen any follow-up press interviews, a la the moto taxi drivers talking to journos. The trail seemed to go cold.

All the sources I refer to can be found on CSI LA and Khaosod English.

Obviously there is nothing conclusive here. And I do appreciate the argument that a generally ominous warning could be made anytime, anywhere and yet might correlate with some unconnected event, merely by happenstance. But when it does correlate, you have to look into it. Compared to every other hypothetical lead that has been shared with the public--Uighurs, Jihad, etc.--this is the only one I know of that actually has any evidence surrounding it, strange though it may be. As George Smiley once said, "I suppose one could always come up with a hypothesis."

I suspect, and here I am crossing from fact into speculation, that investigators are deep into this lead already. There are 3 possibilities: 1) pure coincidence, nothing more to be learned; 2) the guy knows more; 3) he doesn't know more, but has pointed the way to someone who does. You can't conclude 1 without thoroughly investigating 2 & 3. Knowing the Thai police, who contrary to public image are not dumb or incompetent (just often heavily compromised), I think they are keeping their best card close to their vest.

Finally, my standard disclaimer that red and yellow mean little to me. I've been observing Thai politics far too long to get trapped in such an oversimplified dichotomy.

[speedtripler]

Okay, I don't use Fakebook. But anybody who's 'real' has no need of a pseudonym.

Own it, if you have an opinion! And use a VPN, for gosh sake!

Lots of Thais actually do have Facebook accounts under a name that isn't the same as the one on their birth certificate,

Instagram too

<deleted> knows why..

I think it's definitely suspicious this guy gives a warning before it happens, he needs to be interrogated properly... And not in a media press conference

[speedtripler]

I wish they would have made the screenshot of the post a little more visible.

I looked up this story in the Thai news. The actual prophetic post is pretty garbled at the end and doesn't really make sense. I'm guessing that's why they didn't bother to translate the message. It more-or-less says, is a very awkward way,

Urgent, very urgent! Be very careful this 14-18th. I tell you just this. I repeat: Be aware of whats around you.

The last part is really nonsensical, but has words you tell meet together.

I dont believe in fortune telling, or that this guy had any special info as a Red Shirt, but the first part is certainly ominous in light of what took place, if you believe in that sort of silliness. I suppose there is probably someone somewhere at any point in time saying that something horrible is about to happen. Once something horrible actually occurs, we can point to that lucky prophet and say, "His vague prophecy was right! He must have special powers!"

Great opportunity arrest someone in the opposition and intimidate them, though.

for me this guy definitely heard something from someone through the grapevine and either blabbed his mouth thinking he would gain some notoriety or he has a conscience, either way he has landed himself in a whole pile of (deleted), now he has a big problem which won't end well no matter what he says or does

If he predicted this event accurately he knows something more than the rest of us

He is imo probably more important to the investigation than the plethora of taxis, tuk tuks and mosai drivers that have been passed around by the media and enjoyed minor celebrity

Interesting to know if he went to police station first or the found him by his ip address... Or maybe someone told him to go because he will be found by his ip address eventually so better get in first etc