Last month brought two promising breakthroughs for Indigenous Peoples in Thailand. On September 11, the Parliament passed the first reading of an amnesty bill to clear the names of those unjustly criminalized under former Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s militarized and nationalistic “Forest Reclamation Policy.” On September 18, the government gazetted the “Protection and Promotion of the Way of Life of Ethnic Groups Act,” which pledges to safeguard their cultural traditions and self-determined ways of life.
Despite these promising milestones, the identities of Indigenous Peoples in the country continue to be systematically erased. They are still unrecognized in law, conflated with “ethnic minorities” and framed as “outsiders” who encroach on “Thai” land.
In 2025, the same power structures are using climate disinformation as a new tool in their long-standing effort to negate Indigenous identities and dispossess them of their rights. This overlooked issue is explored in Asia Centre’s latest report, “Climate Disinformation in Thailand: Negating Indigenous People’s Identities.”
The report identifies four forms of “climate disinformation”: one-sided reporting that omits the harms of state and corporate initiatives; greenwashing stances that conceal and thereby sustain extractive business practices; false climate solutions that mask increased fossil fuel use; and scapegoating narratives that redefine the forest stewardship of Indigenous Peoples as an environmental threat.
These disinformation narratives, rather than outright fabrications, increasingly rely on the weaponization of selective truths, what researchers term “malinformation.” By highlighting fragments of fact while omitting critical context, malinformation makes falsehoods appear credible and difficult to challenge. Crucially, these narratives serve to delegitimize Indigenous knowledge systems, reducing Indigenous Peoples to obstacles instead of rights-holders and knowledge-bearers.
The result is a flood of stories that present government conservation projects and corporate “green” initiatives as inherently progressive, while labeling Indigenous traditions as backward or destructive. The impacts of climate disinformation do far more than misinform the public; they institutionalize the negation of Indigenous identity and shape policy and daily realities for communities.
For one, state and corporate projects are often portrayed as unquestionable “progress.” Consultations either sidestep Indigenous Peoples altogether or are largely performative, allowing government agencies and investors to misleadingly claim participation while ignoring concerns, thereby circumventing the right to free, prior and informed consent. This lack of accurate information not only denies Indigenous Peoples’ right to self-determination but also erases their identity by dismissing their invaluable ecological knowledge, which could offer holistic climate strategies.
Disinformation also drives the criminalization of Indigenous livelihoods. Forestry and conservation laws use climate disinformation as a justification for outlawing practices such as rotational farming or forest gathering. These charges are paired with Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs), draining community resources and intimidating defenders of Indigenous Peoples who challenge false climate claims. In this way, the law becomes an instrument of identity erasure – recasting cultural practices as crimes.
The same narratives pave the way for forced evictions. “Reforestation” and carbon-offset schemes are presented as urgent climate solutions, while ancestral land rights are overlooked. What is presented as ecological restoration often becomes a mechanism for militarized land grabs. When villages are cleared from national parks or conservation zones, the disconnection from their lands and habitats erodes the very basis of Indigenous Peoples’ identities.
Finally, climate disinformation also feeds a culture of intimidation and violence. When mainstream and social media portray Indigenous Peoples as security risks or obstacles to development, it legitimizes harassment and, at times, physical attacks. Threats, surveillance, and even enforced disappearances of community leaders are the norm, all occurring in an atmosphere where public opinion has been primed to view such repression as “protecting the environment.” This intimidation enforces silence, pushing Indigenous identity further out of public visibility and debate.
Together, climate disinformation legitimizes land grabs and so-called forest reclamation, erasing the ecological value of Indigenous stewardship and denying the cultural, spiritual and political identities of Indigenous Peoples.
This explains why recent legislative gains, though promising, are insufficient on their own to holistically protect Indigenous communities. Without explicit recognition of Indigenous identity and land rights, laws will continue to operate within a framework that renders them invisible and vulnerable to disinformation.
Protecting Indigenous identity is not just a human rights issue – it’s central to authentic climate action. Thailand must begin by recognizing Indigenous Peoples as legitimate custodians of their lands to achieve truly sustainable and just environmental governance.
When Indigenous Peoples’ roles and identities are subverted, climate policies become extractive, reproducing the very injustices they purport to solve.
This op-ed is based on Asia Centre’s report, “Climate Disinformation in Thailand: Negating Indigenous Peoples’ Identity.” Download the full report here. For more information about Asia Centre, visit https://www.asiacentre.org.
