After an armed faction in Myanmar’s eastern Karen state announced the formation of the independent Republic of Kawthoolei in January 2026, social media posts falsely claimed that residents from a nearby region were being expelled unless they paid 50,000 Thai baht for citizenship. But the claim originated from a satirical news report, and a Kawthoolei Army spokesperson said it was untrue.
“The expulsion of Ayeyarwady locals from the Republic of Kawthoolei on the Thai border in Karen State has begun,” reads a purported headline of a Burmese-language article on Facebook on May 9, 2026.
The post includes four images, showing men queuing to board a vehicle, a picture of what appears to be a Republic of Kawthoolei passport, a photo of KTLA leader Saw Nerdah Mya, and an image of a stack of documents that look like ID papers.
“President Saw Nerdah Mya has issued an ultimatum to Ayeyarwady inhabitants who want to become Kawthoolei citizens, stating that they must pay 50,000 Thai baht, or else they must leave immediately,” the post added.
According to the post, the leader had said the Republic of Kawthoolei “will not accept people from the Ayeyarwady Region” unless they pay 50,000 Thai baht (about $1,540), calling it a “special privilege”.
Screenshot of the misleading Facebook post, taken May 26, 2026, with red X added by AFP
Myanmar has been mired in civil war since a 2021 coup deposed the civilian government, with the military battling a myriad of pro-democracy guerrillas and ethnic armed organisations.
The Kawthoolei Army (KTLA) is a faction group of the Karen National Union (KNU) that has been fighting the Myanmar military for decades for greater autonomy along the border of Thailand (archived link).
Saw Nerdah Mya, who formed the KTLA after his dismissal as the commander-in-chief of KNU’s armed wing in July 2022, announced the formation of the independent “Republic of Kawthoolei” on January 5, 2026, according to regional media reports (archived link).
Similar claims of the expulsion spread elsewhere on Facebook in Burmese.
It drew comments from some worried users, with one saying, “50,000 Thai baht is a huge amount of money”.
However, it is not true that Ayeyarwady residents are being expelled from Karen state.
The post appears to be meant as a satirical news report — it uses slang terms and makes fun of Saw Nerdah Mya. A close inspection of the Facebook page sharing the report found it regularly produces similar articles taunting Myanmar’s pro-democracy movement.
KTLA spokesperson Captain Saw Nyi Zaw told AFP via a Telegram call on May 19 that no such expulsion had taken place and the quotes attributed to the group’s leader were fabricated.
“Kawthoolei has been issuing citizen IDs for everyone. It is not true that we are collecting 50,000 THB,” he said.
The Royal Thai Army also told AFP via phone on May 19 that the claim of Ayeyarwady residents being expelled along the Myanmar-Thai border is false.
Unrelated photo and AI image
Reverse image and keyword searches found that the photo of men lining up to board a military vehicle was published by broadcaster Thai PBS on January 28, 2026 (archived link).
The report said the photo showed soldiers from Myanmar who had escaped from a prison in the eastern Karenni state being returned by Thai authorities at a border crossing between the two countries.
Screenshot comparisons of the falsely shared photo (L) and the photo published by Thai PBS in January 2026
Thai journalist Tossapol Boonpat told AFP that the photo was taken by a friend and shared with him.
“The photo captures the moment Thai authorities handed over Myanmar soldiers, who had deserted their ranks and crossed into Thailand at Khun Yuam district, Mae Hong Son province. The handover took place in Tak province,” Tossapol told AFP on May 21.
Moreover, the image of the passport contains several visual errors, including a mismatching logo for the KTLA and gibberish Burmese script (archived link).
Screenshot comparison of AI-generated image (L) and the logo of Kawthoolei Army, with AI-label added and visual inconsistencies highlighted by AFP
Google’s SynthID detection tool determined there was a “very high” chance the images were created with Google AI (archived link).
Screenshot of SynthID analysis result, with the AI label added on the fake image by AFP
KTLA spokesperson Captain Saw Nyi Zaw also said the group does not currently issue passports and said the image of ID cards was “not a picture taken from our office”.
AFP has previously debunked claims about KTLA releasing bank notes with Saw Nerdah Mya’s likeness on it, after the group declared independence.