Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing well social media and social media influencers here in Thailand and we're seeing a lot of really interesting recent news revolving social media especially in what can only be described as the tourism sphere. We've seen kind of almost something akin to an advertiser or influencer war associated with attracting tourists to different locations here in Southeast Asia. 

That being said, I thought of making this video after reading a recent article from the Bangkok Post, that is bangkokpost.com, the article is titled: Influencer boom raises eyebrows regarding social impact. Quoting directly: "Thailand has related laws, but clear regulations specific to influencers are absent. If Thailand wants to effectively supervise influencers, it may need to revise the definition of online media to be clear said the NESDC. The country can adapt the laws and regulations of foreign countries, applying them to Thailand's social context, said the think tank." So this is basically a think tank that talks policy to the Thai Government basically and the issue at play here is as I said, social media I think has really crept up on especially the modern Government of Thailand. Even the social media sphere if you will that existed just a year ago is a pretty fundamentally different thing than what we are dealing with right now. I mean the speed at which social media can keep pace now basically just in real time with the real world, is having an impact here in Thailand in a variety of different ways. As we discussed, there was the situation involving the Chinese national who came to Thailand and was doing some viral videos talking about they didn't feel Thailand was safe and there were work authorization charges that were brought in that context. Now we are seeing situations involving social media influencers apparently coming to Thailand, fabricating negative stories about their experience for example with Thai Immigration presumably; who knows to what end. The big question is, is it just are they trying to get clicks and views as a result of being hyperbolic or are they intentionally trying to undermine the tourism sector here in Thailand. 

Difficult to say but that said, it is clear to me from this article, that relevant authorities here in Thailand are not taking this lightly nor are they overlooking this social media issue. As I have said in other videos and other people when I said that we are not particularly happy when I said it but what I said and what I still stand by at this time is look at the end of the day, YouTubing, social media, whatever you want to call it, this is all relatively new and Thai Law has not particularly responded to it yet. I have thought a Day of Reckoning would be coming; again this is a data point in my further analysis of that to believe that yes, I am probably correct in my original assessment that there will be some kind of reckoning coming with regard to social media influencers here in the Kingdom of Thailand. Now exactly what that looks like remains to be seen, so we will certainly keep you updated on this channel as the situation evolves.