The company that produced the animation “2475 Dawn of Revolution” has filed a defamation lawsuit against Prachatai, its editor-in-chief, and three other people, claiming that a news article from March 2024 contained false information about the company’s relationship with the Army.
Launched on 9 March 2024 and later released online, the animation was produced by Nakra Studio. The copyright is owned by Nakraphiwat Company Limited. After its release, the animation was criticized by pro-democracy netizens for misinterpreting the events of 1932 and for painting those behind the revolution in a bad light.
There were also reports that several army units were screening the animation to conscripts and officers, including the 2nd Signal Regiment, which wrote on its Facebook page that the animation was screened to soldiers in the Regiment and their families to raise the “right awareness” about the revolution and build a “love of the nation, religion, and King.”
On 15 March 2024, Prachatai reported that, according to the analysis of the Anti-Corruption Organization of Thailand, the Army had previously commissioned 11 media production projects from the Nakraphiwat Company. The report noted that the animation was not named on the list and that its producers also said that they did not receive government funding to make the animation.
On 23 October, Prachatai received a court summons stating that the Nakhrapiwat Company has filed a lawsuit against the Foundation for Community Educational Media (FCEM), the foundation which runs Prachatai, its former editor-in-chief Senator Tewarit Maneechai, former FCEM President Dr Kasem Sirisampan, and three other people who shared the 15 March news article, for defamation by publication and bringing into a computer system and sharing false information.
The company said that the lawsuit was filed because the 15 March article falsely claimed that it received funding from the Army to produce the animation.