After teaming up with right-wing media presenters at Top News to continue to discredit the pro-democracy movement in Thailand, the military-run Channel 5 is now joining up with the Russian Embassy to spread Russian propaganda to its viewers.

Executives from the channel met with Yevgeny Tomikhin, the Russian ambassador to Thailand, on Tuesday evening.

They said the meeting was meant to create cooperation between Channel 5 and Russia’s news agency to provide “facts” and combat “fake news”.

The Thai channel said they are willing to provide an equal footing for Russia’s news instead of only providing information from international news agencies such as Reuters.

Their excuse is that the move was meant to provide Thai people with all sides of the news. Similar to the same excuse of invading Ukraine to protect human rights, it is all rubbish.

Channel 5 has canceled a press conference to announce a media partnership with contemporaries from Russia, China, and Iran, local news reported on Thursday, after blowback received by the channel earlier this week.

The army-run free-TV channel did not officially clarify the cancellation but members of the press reported that executives of the Thai TV channel are looking to meet with representatives from the Ukraine embassy first before having the press conference.

Executives from the channel met with Yevgeny Tomikhin, the Russian ambassador to Thailand, on Tuesday evening and they agreed to provide Russian news about the war in Ukraine that is based on “facts” because there is “fake news” in international media.

Channel 5 said they want to maintain neutrality on the war by not reporting on news that was covered by wire media such as Reuters only.

The channel has separate agreements with the Chinese and Iranian governments so that their viewers can get to see “all sides” of the news.

However, the move to air Russia’s point of view on its invasion of Ukraine was met with heavy criticism from the public.

Local news report that the press conference was canceled because Lieutenant-General Rangsi Kitiyanasap, the Managing Director of Channel 5, is scheduled to meet with Orel Pavlo, the Charge d’Affaires of the Ukraine Embassy, on Thursday first.

Onlookers believe that the move is meant to maintain Channel 5’s claim that they have a neutral view of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.