BANGKOK: Thailand is set to open its first center to combat fake news, a minister said on Tuesday, the latest Asian country to push for greater cyber scrutiny in what activists fear is a smokescreen for targeting critics.

The Anti-Fake News Center will start work on Friday using AI and trained monitors to flag posts on everything from healthcare to government policies, digital economy and society minister Buddhipongse Punnakanta told Agence France-Presse.