Thairath Online Wins 4 Awards at the 2026 Best Digital News Awards

The Online News Producers Association announced the "Best Digital News Awards 2026," promoting and honoring online media dedicated to producing quality work. Thairath Online won four awards.

Today (13 Nov 2026), the Online News Producers Association (SONP) announced the Best Digital News Awards 2026. This marks the 12th year of the event, aimed at promoting and recognizing online media committed to creating and advancing quality online news. This year, 16 news organizations submitted a total of 160 entries, divided into 8 news categories and 1 special award category.

Regarding the results of the Best Digital News Awards 2026, “Thairath Online” swept a total of 4 awards, including

• an honorable mention for Best Investigative News & News Feature for the piece “The South: BRN's Goal of Self-Governance and Sharia Law” by the SEE TRUE news team, who reported from the three southern border provinces amid a violent period following the July shooting incident that killed five rangers.
• An honorable mention for Best News Developed from Issues on Social Media was awarded for “The Israeli Series on Koh Phangan” by the Thairath Online team, covering the influx of Israelis fleeing war to live on Koh Phangan and the resulting conflicts with local residents.
• Another honorable mention for Best Social Development News went to “The Toxic Waste Trail in the Eastern Region” which investigated areas full of recycling factories and illegal toxic waste dumping, tracing truck routes back to the source and exploring soil, water, and air pollution problems faced by local communities.
• An honorable mention for Best Road Safety News was given for “Grandma Biker, Accelerating a Legacy: The Hidden Life of Elderly Motorcyclists on Public Roads” which examined the issues surrounding elderly people using electric motorcycles, revealing underlying social challenges of aging and loneliness, and included discussions on policy solutions.

The full list of winners for the “Best Digital News Awards 2026” is as follows.

1. Best Investigative News & News Feature

• One grand prize winner

Entry: Exposing the Local Exam Cheating Syndicate Embezzling Tens of Billions!

Next News Agency

• Two honorable mentions

Entry: Exposing Illegal Foreign Worker Bribes: No Payment, No Registration

The Standard News Agency

Entry: BRN’s Plan: ‘Simultaneous Violence and Negotiation’ Towards Self-Governance

Thairath Online

2. Best News Developed from Issues on Social Media

• One grand prize winner

Entry: The Touching Story Behind the Viral AI-Generated Clip of a Soldier Holding a Rice Package with Millions of Views

PPTV HD36 News Agency

• Two honorable mentions

Entry: “The Israeli Series on Koh Phangan”

Thairath Online

Entry: Our (Two) Cards Are Not Equal: Revealing Differences in Voter Turnout Between Constituency and Party-List Elections Despite Receiving Both Ballots

Thai PBS News Agency

3. Best Social Development News

• One grand prize winner

Entry: Caregivers: Who Cares for the Caregivers?

Thai PBS News Agency

• Two honorable mentions

Entry: Dying Well: Designing the Final Journey

Thai PBS News Agency

Entry: “The Toxic Waste Trail in the Eastern Region”

Thairath Online

4. Best Video Clip News

• One grand prize winner

Entry: BNPL: “The Debt Trap Loop” When a 50 Baht Chicken Rice Costs Five Months of Installments?

Krungthep Turakij News Agency

• Two honorable mentions

Entry: The Disappearing Way of the Moken? As the Land Bridge Advances in the Andaman Sea | Inspiring Story

The People News Agency

Entry: Exposing Foreign Worker Bribes: Paid in Full, So Why Additional Payments?

The Standard News Agency

5. Best Infographic and Data Visualization

• One grand prize winner

Entry: The Power of 1%: Women as a Minority in Thai Political Power

Thai PBS News Agency

• Two honorable mentions

Entry: Bangkok Native: All the City’s Problems, Who Is Responsible?

PPTV HD36 News Agency

Entry: Don’t Let Good Intentions Become Burdens! Checklist of Items That Can Be Donated to Make Prosthetic Legs

PPTV HD36 News Agency

6. Best Photojournalism

• One grand prize winner  

Entry: Rats Fleeing Floodwaters in Silom

The Standard News Agency

• Two honorable mentions

Entry: Heated Incident at Thonglor Police Station: “Nattawut” Slips and Pushes “Somchai” off a Bike Before Media and Police

PPTV HD36 News Agency

Entry: Those Behind Care... Don’t Drink and Drive

PPTV HD36 News Agency

7. Best Fact Check and Verification

• One grand prize winner

Entry: The Narathiwat Ranger Shooting: AI-Enhanced CCTV Footage Unable to Confirm if the Tattoo Image Is Real

Thai PBS News Agency

  8. Best Road Safety News

• One grand prize winner

Entry: Dissecting the “Pedestrian Crossing Crisis” from a Billion-Baht Budget Unenforced, to the “Price of Life” at 530 Billion, and a City Planning Blueprint That Leaves No One Behind

Isara News Agency

• Two honorable mentions

Entry: Grandma Biker: “Accelerating a Legacy,” The Hidden Life of Loneliness and No Way Out for Elderly on Public Roads

Thairath Online

Entry: Lessons from the Major Accident: “Train Collides with Bus” Analyzed Through the Swiss Cheese Model Theory

Thai PBS News Agency

9. Special Category: Young Digital News Providers Award

Entry: Scam and Scheme

Chulalongkorn University