Thai Protesters Use Facebook to Poke Government-Linked Businesses

Social media campaign against businesses tied to prime minister

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Protesters in Thailand resorted to social media Thursday as a way to target businesses tied to Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

The social media campaign targeted businesses linked to her family, and protesters also homed in on a property developer by standing outside its offices waving Thai flags and blowing whistles, causing its share price to plummet, Reuters reports. Suthep Thaugsuban, a protest leader, told his supporters that “If you love your country, stop using Shinawatra products and do everything you can so that their business fails.”

The country’s demonstrators say they are angry about the influence of the Prime Minister’s brother Thaksin Shinawatra. On Tuesday, a police officer and four protesters were killed in violent clashes.

Following the skirmish, a civil court in Bangkok declared that the protesters in the capital have remained peaceful, despite glaring evidence they have been both armed and assaulted voters during the run up to the country’s snap polls in February. According to the civil court’s ruling, Yingluck’s government does not possess the legal justification to disperse the protesters or enforce measures in line with the state of emergency that was installed in January, which has effectively rendered the decree meaningless.

[Reuters]