American lobbyist 'who faked being a White House reporter' slammed for posting misinformation and doctored images of Cambodia conflict

An American lobbyist who posed as a White House reporter has been singled out by the Thai government for repeatedly spreading misinformation about the conflict with Cambodia.

Michael B Alfaro previously claimed to be a journalist to access senior levels of the Cambodian government and the sensitive border area, where he went on a deranged pro-Trump rant in August, shouting 'wait until the President sees this'.

Alfaro this week boasted that he has close ties to former Trump advisor and Washington lobbyist, Don Benton, whose firm is receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars a year from Cambodia. Alfaro has faced repeated allegations that he is also being paid to spread misinformation.

Senior military figures have previously warned that the 'fake news posts' on social media inflame the conflict.

General Thongchai Rodyoi, Chief of Staff of the Royal Thai Army, warned at a meeting with US officials in August that fake news could destabilise the peace process.

He said the 'spread of fake news has fuelled hatred among populations, making it increasingly difficult to control the situation, and was hampering the work of state agencies'.

But on December 14, Alfaro - who claims to be an expert in Southeast Asian military affairs - posted a photo of an injured soldier being wheeled into a hospital, claiming the troop was Cambodian. But he failed to recognise the soldier was wearing a Thai uniform, and multiple pieces of Thai language were visible in the picture.

The image was highlighted by fact-checkers as being false. Last week, on December 11, he posted images of an explosion, claiming it was in a civilian area. But checks proved it was AI-generated. The same image was pointed out by military chiefs in their briefings.

In a third post this month, the bungling lobbyist posted a video claiming to show Thai F-16 fighter jets had bombed a casino and heavy artillery had shelled an oil depot in Cambodia's Oddar Meanchey Province, without pointing out it was an AI-generated clip.

He has not apologised for any of the misinformation.

Speaking in a press conference on December 15, Rear Admiral Surasant Kongsiri, spokesman for the Thai Ministry of Defence, addressed one of many fake pictures. He said: 'Another fake news picture here is the picture of Thai mass casualties. Cambodian authorities have claimed that they managed to cause the casualties among the Thai soldiers.

'We would like to deny that because, as you can see, the picture has been AI-generated, as indicated here with the symbol of a star from one of the apps of AI creators to indicate that this has been AI-generated.

'I would like to inform the general public that whenever you see pictures like this, please be sure that you observe and look carefully in the picture and make sure it's not AI-generated before you actually pass them onto other people.'

When asked about the problem of lobbyists, the military chief said: 'Lobbyists are used to communicate in English to audiences worldwide, accusing Thailand of using violence that affected nearby civilians.

'Thailand's weapons have high accuracy and are directed only at military targets, with no impact or only minimal impact on civilians.

'Several lobbyists attempted to spread such claims in quick succession, with some crying or sharing footage of themselves claiming Thailand harmed Cambodian civilians without providing actual pictures.

'There is no evidence to support their claims. Thailand adheres to the Geneva and Ottawa Conventions, which is supported by evidence, and is more sustainable than spreading rumours.'

The Thai army in August had previously said that Alfaro was 'not a White House reporter, as he claimed, nor is he affiliated with or accredited by any credible media organisation'.

Before debunking the American's claims, government spokesman Jirayu Houngsub said officials had initially planned to invite Alfaro to Thailand to witness first-hand the damage and deaths allegedly caused by Cambodian heavy weapons being fired indiscriminately into their country.

He said: ‘Now that it has been established he is not a White House correspondent and has falsely invoked the name of the US president, the matter is closed. He is not welcome to set foot in Thailand.'

When Alfaro was asked whether he shared the same concerns for the Cambodian rocket attack on July 24 that killed eight civilians - including children - and injured 13 others, Alfaro refused to express any condolences.

Bizarrely, he accused Thailand of running 'killing fields', a reference to the genocide of the 1970s when the Cambodian Khmer Rouge party slaughtered up to three million of their own fellow citizens.

Responding today to the misinformation and allegations that he is paid to support the Cambodian government, Alfaro said: 'I have multiple teams of professional tech and media freelancers who voluntarily work with me.'

He denied deliberately posting digitally altered photos or photos that are misrepresented in order to distort or inflame the current conflict between Thailand and Cambodia.

He also denied being funded by any third parties to support the Cambodian state or being subcontracted by Don Benton to produce information in line with the aims of the Cambodian government.

The misinformation blitz came as it emerged that Cambodia has hired at least five US lobbying firms to push their narrative on the international stage as it wages an 'information war' on Thailand.

They were exposed through contracts registered with the US Department of Justice (DOJ), under the US Foreign Agents Registration Act, which requires foreign lobbyists to register and disclose their activities to the DOJ.

The firms were identified as Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, Qorvis Communications, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP, PacRim Bridges LLC, and National Consulting Services - a firm run by former Trump advisor Don Benton. Benton has a 13-month contract that started in March 2025.

The contract fees ranged from 38,000 to 69,300 USD (28,390 to 51,776 GBP) per month. Among the services provided were public relations strategies, legal and trade advice, US government liaison, and promotion of Cambodian travel and tourism.

Territorial clashes flared up earlier this year before a brief ceasefire, but started again this month when Cambodian troops are said to have fired on a Thai engineering team building an access road in a disputed border area.

In the most recent battles, at least 21 Thai soldiers and one civilian have been killed. In Cambodia, the number of military fatalities is believed to be much higher, though regime chiefs have not revealed the actual figure.

Around 600,000 people have been displaced on both sides of the border.

Cambodia's assault has largely been wayward, unguided rockets fired indiscriminately into Thai territory, including an attack on July 24 that killed eight people and injured 13 others. Thailand has used precision drone strikes and fighter jet strikes on military sites.

Former Khmer Rouge henchman and Cambodian dictator Hun Sen has repeatedly claimed that he wants peace and that Thailand is the aggressor.

Thai officials claim the ongoing border confrontations are a threat to national security, and the areas must be secured.