Social media users continue to clash and push back against state media over sensitive issues.
The Latest: Despite being condemned by state television, Threads users in Việt Nam continue to post and push back against a VTV broadcast concerning the Tuyên Quang High School for the Gifted exam scandal.
- Online discussions have now expanded beyond the initial controversy to include debates over National Assembly delegate Nguyễn Sỹ Cương, the Hải Vân Pass, and other perceived social injustices.
The Details: On Aug. 7, VTV24’s YouTube channel published a 4-minute, 43-second segment titled “Fact or Fake: A Fake Crowd, a Real Threat.”
- The segment analyzed a post from the account depgai253, which featured the text “Tuyên Quang High School for the Gifted, Aug. 14-15” alongside an AI-generated image of an armed crowd.
- VTV24 depicted the image as: “A crowd carrying sticks [standing] outside Tuyên Quang High School for the Gifted. […] One stick even passed through a man’s neck. […] Several human figures were duplicated through AI copying.”
- VTV24 reported the post attracted more than 300,000 views and nearly 29,000 interactions.
Tuyên Quang Provincial Police informed VTV24 that the circulating image was false and “extremely dangerous.” The police stated:
“It exploits the public’s demand for information and crowd psychology, making the content appear highly credible. It was calculated with a clear purpose. This was not merely an attempt to attract views or likes for entertainment, but to guide, manipulate, and ultimately incite people to gather in large numbers, threatening security and public order.”
VTV24 highlighted a series of comments beneath the post and argued that users were employing fabricated content to provoke real-world action through three stages:
- “The first stage involves encouraging people near Tuyên Quang to come and provide support while mentioning potentially dangerous objects.”
- “The second stage makes the plan more concrete: Someone asks about travel time, and the post’s author responds with a departure time.
- The third stage escalates the language toward violence.”
In addition, the broadcaster “warned” that distributing AI-generated false content to incite others could result in an administrative fine of up to 30 million đồng.
- Organizing a gathering that disturbs public order could result in criminal charges, with leaders facing up to seven years in prison.
Statement from the Original Poster: On Aug. 8, depgai_253—the account whose post VTV used as an example—posted: “I thought I was just posting a joke for fun. How did it come to this? Out of thousands of posts, why did they have to pick mine?”
- The user added in the comments: “Dear TV station, I’ve learned my lesson. Please don’t fine me, PLS PLS.”
- By 11 a.m. on Aug. 10, the post had received more than 42,000 likes and 1,200 comments.
Account namintergalactic commented: “I thought this was posted for fun. Who knew it would end up on the chopping block? What VTV did was strange—the post did not even insult CTQ [Tuyên Quang High School for the Gifted].”
- This comment received more than 4,800 likes.
Additionally, an account named iw.linh02 wrote: “VTV is literally defending a rigged examination.”
- This comment garnered more than 4,000 likes.
In addition, Luật Khoa found that the original depgai253 post cited by VTV24 had been removed or hidden from Threads.
Social Media Reactions: Other Threads users openly mocked the broadcast, with “VTV” even trending on the platform.
On Aug. 7, account 12_nqa wrote:
“I have one question for VTV: Can you distinguish between a satirical image, a real image and a fabricated image? If you cannot tell the difference, then stop broadcasting this propaganda about fake news. Instead, report on the person behind the examination fraud—or at least discuss the fairness of making a student who arrives late wait until next year to retake the exam while students affected by score manipulation get another opportunity after only one month.”
On Aug. 8, account nguyensan0933 wrote:
“It is not surprising that VTV aired a report trying to bury these posts. Satire is something that people with oversized egos and little self-respect cannot tolerate—especially satire from young people whom they dismiss as immature and meddling in matters that do not concern them.
They know these posts are sarcastic and satirical. After all, they are educated people holding official positions, aren’t they? But they chose to label everything AI-generated fake news to diminish that satire and protect their wounded egos.”
On Aug. 9, account oldmantoji wrote a post that received more than 305,000 views, 14,700 likes, and 325 comments:
“Dear VTV, what I watch is my business. I am old enough to recognize what is fabricated, manipulative, or inflammatory. Stop publicly shaming Gen Z. If you have time, send reporters to verify the facts.”
VTV24’s “Fact or Fake” Program: The program is jointly produced by Vietnam Television’s News Department and the Department of Cybersecurity and High-Tech Crime Prevention, with Nguyễn Thị Phương Mai serving as production director.
- On Aug. 6—one day prior to the broadcast—the Facebook page of the Department of Cybersecurity and High-Tech Crime Prevention also published the AI image with the warning: “Using AI to fabricate a disorderly gathering at Tuyên Quang High School for the Gifted: Social media is not a place for jokes.”
About Threads: Over the past year, Threads has emerged as a notable forum for online discussion in Việt Nam.
Many users—predominantly young people—use the platform to express opinions and debate political and social issues, including the Bảo Ngọc case, the Làng Vân development project, and the Tuyên Quang High School for the Gifted retest
- These debates sometimes develop into waves of public reaction involving thousands of interactions, with some discussions continuing to thrive even after the original posts are hidden or removed by the platform.
Thành Phương wrote this news article in Vietnamese and published it in Luật Khoa Magazine on August 10, 2026. The Vietnamese Magazine translated it into English.
