Fake news and online disinformation: a perspectives of Thai government officials

This paper reports the perception of fake news problem of Thai government officials. An online survey of social network usage, fake news encounter and their confidence in spotting fake news ability were posted internally in a government organization. In total, 291 respondents have completed the survey. The results show that most used media are social network, television and video hosting website, respectively. Most participants encounter fake news at least several times a month, 29% of respondents found fake news every day. While, half of respondent's report they are not confident in fake news identification, they are aware the problems of spreading fake news. This study is the first step of further works to develop a framework and procedure to handle fake news and misinformation in Thailand.