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The video which appears to show a gunman shooting at people does not actually the recent Siam Paragon mall shooting in Bangkok!

Take a look at the viral video, and find out what the facts really are!

Claim : Viral Video Shows Bangkok Mall Shooting!

People are sharing a video on WhatsApp and social media platforms, claiming that it shows the recent Siam Paragon mall shooting in Bangkok!

https://www.techarp.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/WhatsApp-Video-2023-10-07-at-15.24.22.mp4?_=1

Truth : Viral Video Does Not Show Bangkok Mall Shooting!

This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS circulating on WhatsApp and social media, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : Video Was Posted In Douyin

I traced the video that was posted to Douyin – China’s version of TikTok. The original poster (OP) is a Douyin user called Master ho (@yzz945201314), and here is the direct link to the video.

Fact #2 : Video Was Posted In August 2023

Master ho posted the video on 9 August 2023. The Siam Paragon mall shooting in Bangkok only occurred on 3 October 2023 – almost two months later.

So there is simply impossible for the viral video to be of the Siam Paragon mall shooting in Bangkok.

Fact #3 : Video Was Recorded In Phuket In June 2023

Even though the viral video was only posted to Douyin in August, it was originally recorded more than a month earlier – on Friday, 28 June 2023.

It was also not recorded in the Siam Paragon Mall in Bangkok. Rather, it was recorded in the Domestic Terminal of the Phuket International Airport.

If you look carefully at the video, you will notice the airport check-in counters, and people carrying luggages. The video was obviously recorded at an airport, and not a mall.

Fact #4 : Siam Paragon Shooter Was Only Armed With Pistol

The Siam Paragon mall shooter was an unnamed 14 year-old teenager from the nearby private secondary school – The Essence.

The boy was only armed with a modified Glock 9mm pistol, and did not have any long guns with him.

The shooter in the viral video was not only armed with a handgun, he also had what looked like an automatic rifle.

Fact #5 : It Was An Active Shooter Drill

The viral video does not show any actual crime, or gun violence taking place. It was an emergency security drill to simulate a response to an “active shooter” in the Phuket International Airport. In the photo above, you can even see a man taking photos or videos of the drill!

The drill was called “Full-scal exercise of Phuket International Airport Emergency Plan (PEMEX 2023), and conducted on the second floor of the Domestic Terminal, at around 11 PM – -after boarding for the final departing domestic flight had cleared the area.

The exercise was designed to simulate the coordinated response of security and anti-terrorism personnel to an active shooter taking hostages in the domestic terminal area. Thai agencies and personnel that took part in this PEMEX 2023 exercise included:

Thai Provincial Police Region 8
Sakhu Police
Phuket Airline Operations Committee (AOC)
Airports of Thailand ground service company (AOTGA)
Airports of Thailand private security company (AOT AVSEC)
Vachira Phuket Hospital
Phuket Provincial Public Health Office
Subdistrict Administrative Organisations (OrBorTor) for Mai Khao, Sakhu, and Thepkrasattri.

Fact #6 : There Are Many Clues In The Video

The truth is – anyone who analyses the video will realise that there are many “issues” with this video:

the gunshots do not sound like real gunshots
gunshots ring out even when the gunman isn’t shooting
none of the victims are bleeding
the person recording the video is bravely standing up to record the video for almost 2.5 minutes
the person recording the video can be heard laughing at around 0:18 in the video
at around 1:30, another man can be seen recording the scene from the upper floor

Fact #7 : OP Likely Reposted From A Different Source

The Douyin poster, Master ho, does not appear to be the person recording the video. He mistakenly labelled the location as Songkhla Airport – more accurately known as the Hat Yai International Airport in the Songkhla Province.

泰国宋卡机场发生枪击事件，听说是演习农因因因

A shooting incident occurred at Songkhla Airport in Thailand. It was said that it an exercise.

However, he clearly stated in the description, and his subsequent comments, that it was just a drill.

Whoever copied this video from his Douyin account is certainly aware that the video was of an airport drill, and posted almost 3 months earlier.

The only conclusion we can draw from this is that – whoever copied the video to share in October 2023, is intentionally trying to mislead people.

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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

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Does a viral video show a woman smashing hundreds of bottles of alcohol in lawless US?!

Take a look at the viral video, and find out what the facts really are!

Claim : Woman Smashed Bottles Of Alcohol In Lawless US!

Pro-CCP netizens and the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛) are sharing this video on Douyin (China’s version of TikTok) and WhatsApp, as evidence of a lawless US.

The video shows a woman smashing hundreds of bottles of alcohol, allegedly in a Walmart store in the United States. It’s accompanied by messages like this:

‘Zero dollar shopping’ can only take away all you can grab. This one, just destroy everything on site.

No wonder Walmart will close 21 stores in 12 US states and Washington DC. Four Chicago stores are among the latest to join the list.

https://www.techarp.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Woman-smashes-bottles-of-alcohol.mp4?_=2

Truth : Woman Did Not Smash Bottles Of Alcohol In US!

This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created by pro-CCP netizens, and promoted / shared by the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛) and its supporters, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : This Video Was Edited

First, let me just point out that the viral video clip was edited, presumably to cast a different light on the story.

The video clip was cut short so you won’t see a security officer leading her away. It was also flipped in half the video to extend the video and make it look like the woman was doing more damage than she really was, and possibly to make it harder for people to locate the source of the video.

Fact #2 : Viral Video Was Recorded In 2020

The viral video isn’t new, even though the wumao and pro-CCP netizens are suggesting it just happened. The video was actually recorded at around 2:30 PM on Thursday, 25 November 2020.

Fact #3 : Viral Video Was Recorded In The United Kingdom

While the wumao and pro-CCP netizens are promoting the video as evidence of a lawless US (as opposed to the glorious security of CCP-controlled China), the viral video was not even recorded in the United States!

The incident also did not occur in a Walmart. The viral video was recorded at an Aldi store, in Stevenage, Hertfordshire.

Fact #4 : The Woman Did Not Steal Anything

While the wumao and pro-CCP netizens are promoting the video as evidence of rampant theft (because no one steals in CCP-controlled China?), the woman did not steal a thing!

The woman – 36 year-old Barbara Stange-Alvarez of Swingate, used her arm to sweep hundreds of bottles of alcohol off the shelves at Aldi the aisle containing bottles of alcohol, and started sweeping bottles off the shelves, before picking them up one by one to smash on the floor.

About 90 seconds into her smashing spree, she slipped and fell onto the broken glass, cutting her hand. A security officer from another store arrived and detained her until police arrived. They then took her to the Lister Hospital in Stevenage, where she kicked a security guard in the shin and hurled racial insults at him.

Barbara was charged with criminal damage, racially-motivated common assault, and racially-aggravated public order offence. She was not charged with theft.

Fact #5 : The Woman Was Mentally Unwell

Stange-Alvarez later told the St. Albans Magistrates’ Court that she was “suffering from mental health issues” because she was unable to work during the pandemic. She also said she was not receiving the treatment she thought she should have.

On the day she smashed those bottles, she visited a local mental health clinic seeking help, but was unhappy with the response and “lost the plot”.

On 18 January 2022, Barbara Stange-Alvarez was given a 12-week sentence suspended for 18 months, and required to undergo mental health treatment and rehabilitation, as well as pay Aldi £5,000 in compensation, and court costs of £85.

Fact #6 : Walmart Closing 23 Stores Due To Poor Performance

The fake news creator copied the phrase “Walmart will close 21 stores in 12 states and DC. Four Chicago stores are among the latest to join the list.” from a Business Insider article, without actually reading it properly.

The article actually states that, in addition to those 12 retail stores, Walmart is also closing pick-up only stores in Illinois and Arkansas. That’s a total of 23 stores.

Theft at Walmart stores has always been an issue, as Walmart CEO Doug McMillion pointed out, but it does not mean the stores will close because of it:

Theft is an issue. It’s higher than what it has historically been. Prices will be higher and/or stores will close.

Walmart has been quietly closing stores every year since 2019, because they were “underperforming” and had “poor financial performance”.

Fact #7 : This Is Shameless Chinese Propaganda

This is yet another example of Chinese propaganda created by the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛) or pro-CCP netizens.

All of the wumao articles that I looked at so far have proven to be false… in every instance. So please watch out for such false claims. Here is just the latest dozen,.

Please help us fight fake news – SHARE this article, and SUPPORT our work!

Please Support My Work!

Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!

Name : Adrian Wong
Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp

Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

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