In 2024, the Wikipedia page for Chenla [Zhenla], contained the following sentence:
“According to Paul Pelliot, Sambhupura was the capital of Land Chenla [km] (Upper Chenla) and Vyadhapura was the capital of Water Chenla [km] (Lower Chenla).” [2]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20240823071633/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chenla]
The “[km]” in this sentence linked to Khmer-language pages on Land Zhenla and Water Zhenla, respectively.
Further, the Khmer-language page for Land Zhenla equated it with a place in Chinese sources called Wendan 文單.
Finally, the citation for the full sentence above, “[2]”, was: Sharan, Mahesh Kumar (2003). Studies In Sanskrit Inscriptions of Ancient Cambodia. Abhinav Publications. pp. 31–32.
Today, that sentence looks like this:
“According to Paul Pelliot, Sambhupura (Isanapura) was the capital of Land Chenla (Upper Chenla) and Vyadhapura was the capital of Water Chenla [km] (Lower Chenla),[1] but, according to George Coedès, Baladityapura (Aninditapura) was the capital of Water Chenla and Wen Tan (Wen Dan) was Land Chenla.[36]
- “[1]” is the same reference to Sharan, however,
- The link to the Khmer-language page for Land Zhenla, which equates it with Wendan, has been removed,
- A claim by Coedès has been added that says the capital of Land Zhenla was Wendan, and
- A link was added to a page for “Wen Dan” that was made by Thomson Walt on 9 April 2024, which uses the scholarship of Tatsuo Hosino to claim that Wendan was in Thailand
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wen_Dan]
I am not well-versed on how Wikipedia works, and I’m getting lost in the revision histories, but it appears that this change was made by someone named “RyanW1995” (I’m not positive about that though).
In any case, what is significant is the link to a page created by Thomson Walt.
I wrote about Thomson Walt a few days ago. He has been creating A LOT of pages relating to early Southeast Asian history. Initially I thought they might coincide with the 2025 Thai-Cambodia border conflict, but I see now that he started to create pages at least as early as 2024 (the link is still possible, but it’s not direct).
That said, many of the first pages he created are about beauty contests, such as: Miss Grand Ghana, Miss Grand Georgia, Miss Grand Cantabria, Miss Grand La Rioja, Miss Grand Netherlands, Miss Grand Nicaragua, Miss Grand Navarra, Miss Grand Euskadi, Miss Grand Zaragoza, Miss Grand Galicia, Miss Grand Extramadura, Miss Grand Madrid, Miss Grand Toledo, Miss Grand Paraná, Miss Grand Paraná Las Palmas, Miss Grand Paraná, Miss Grand Asunción, Miss Grand Abruzzo, Miss Grand Apulia, Miss Grand Lithuania, Miss Grand Cuba, Miss Grand Liberia, etc.
A lot of these were first created around April-May 2024. In the time since then, Thomson Walt has expanded beyond this interest in beauty contests, with his particular niche expertise on provincial Spanish and Italian beauty pageants, to produce numerous carefully-crafted and detailed Wikipedia pages on early Southeast Asian history, focusing on the mainland, and often emphasizing information in Chinese sources, such as the following:
9 April 2024 – Wen Dan
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wen_Dan
1 May 2024 – Tun Sun
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tun_Sun
11 November 2024 – Suphannabhum
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suphannabhum
11 November 2024 – Siam Confederation
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siam_Confederation_(Xi%C4%81n)
17 January 2025 – Mahidharapura_Kingdoms
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahidharapura_Kingdoms
4 February 2025 – Suvarnapura Kingdom
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suvarnapura_Kingdom
5 April 2025 – Kamalanka
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamalanka
13 May 2025 – Xiu Luo Fen
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xiu_Luo_Fen
14 May 2025 – Cān Bàn Kingdom
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%C4%81n_B%C3%A0n_Kingdom
12 August 2025 – Zhān Bó
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zh%C4%81n_B%C3%B3
12 August 2025 – Syamapura Kingdom
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syamapura_Kingdom
14 August 2025 – Gān Bì
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C4%81n_B%C3%AC
While the example above suggests an interest in creating a Thai-centric view of the past, and there is other information in his pages to suggest that, he has a page on the “Siam Confederation” which goes against the royalist-nationalist narrative of a line of unified kingdoms from Sukhothai to the present.
Meanwhile, there is something “Chinese” about a lot of this.
So, I have no idea what is going on, but SOMETHING is going on.
While I suppose that it is not impossible, I find it extremely hard to believe that there is some lone person out there who is a passionate fan of provincial Spanish and Italian beauty contests and early Southeast Asian history (although all are certainly equally deserving of our passion) who is spending his days creating Wikipedia page after Wikipedia page.
What the heck is happening on Wikipedia?!!
Update and Correction: Grok just did some kind of black magic and was able to identify the following 550 Wikipedia pages created by Thomson Walt in the last five years:
https://xtools.wmcloud.org/pages/en.wikipedia.org/Thomson_Walt
A correction – his interest in beauty pageants goes far beyond provincial Spain and Italy (I was previously looking at a Wikipedia page that only provided limited information about the pages he had created).
However, it’s only in about the last year that he has started to produce the Wikipedia pages on early Southeast Asian history that incorporate information from Chinese, Thai, and international sources/scholarship.
I’m listing below what he produced in 2025 (you can use the link above to find the links to each page if just searching for the terms doesn’t work).
How the heck is all of this getting created?
January 2025
Mueang Chaliang (2025-01-01)
Tboung Khmum Kingdom (2025-01-02)
Dong Mueang Aem (2025-01-03)
Mueang Ham Hok (2025-01-04)
Nakhon Kalong (2025-01-04)
Ban Khu Mueang ancient city (2025-01-05)
Non Mueang ancient city (2025-01-05)
Champasri (2025-01-05)
Mueang Soi (2025-01-06)
Mahidharapura Kingdoms (2025-01-17)
February 2025
Suvarnapura Kingdom (2025-02-04)
Miss Grand Italy 2025 (2025-02-17)
Miss Grand India 2025 (2025-02-22)
Miss Grand New Jersey (2025-02-24)
March 2025
Miss Grand Japan 2025 (2025-03-05)
Miss Grand Botswana (2025-03-10)
Miss Grand Botswana 2014 (2025-03-10)
Miss Grand Castellón (2025-03-19)
Miss Grand República Dominicana 2025 (2025-03-21)
April 2025
Miss Grand Philippines 2025 (2025-04-03)
Chawiwat Pramoj (2025-04-04)
Kamalanka (2025-04-05)
Takkola (2025-04-08)
Phrip Phri (2025-04-16)
Yamanadvipa (2025-04-24)
May 2025
Keoi Lau Mì (2025-05-12)
Xiu Luo Fen (2025-05-13)
Zhū Jiāng Kingdom (2025-05-14)
Chē Qú Kingdom (2025-05-14)
Cān Bàn Kingdom (2025-05-14)
Bái Tóu Kingdom (2025-05-14)
Gān Jūn Kingdom (2025-05-14)
Bō Luó Cì Kingdom (2025-05-14)
Pó Luó Pó Kingdom (2025-05-14)
Hē Luó Dàn Kingdom (2025-05-14)
Miss Grand Liberia (2025-05-14)
Dàomíng Kingdom (2025-05-15)
Duō Miè Kingdom (2025-05-16)
Miss Grand Venezuela 2025 (2025-05-16)
June 2025
Miss Grand Tanzania 2025 (2025-06-21)
July 2025
Miss Grand Australia 2025 (2025-07-06)
Miss Grand Argentina 2025 (2025-07-07)
Miss Grand Texas (2025-07-08)
Miss Grand Macau 2025 (2025-07-11)
Miss Grand Trinidad and Tobago 2025 (2025-07-16)
Miss Grand Malaysia 2025 (2025-07-28)
Miss Grand Peru 2025 (2025-07-30)
August 2025
Miss Grand Indonesia 2025 (2025-08-09)
Syamapura Kingdom (2025-08-12)
Zhān Bó (2025-08-12)
Gān Bì (2025-08-14)
Miss Grand Thailand 2026 (2025-08-25)
September 2025
Pra Poat honne Sourittep pennaratui sonanne bopitra (2025-09-08)
Pujiayuemo (2025-09-09)
Adītaraj (2025-09-09)
Rajadhiraj (2025-09-09)
Sundaraprakrama (2025-09-09)
Sundararavarman (2025-09-10)
Narapatisimhavarman (2025-09-10)
Ipoia Sanne Thora Thesma Teperat (2025-09-10)
Pra Poa Noome Thele Seri (2025-09-10)
Uthong II (2025-09-11)
Jayasena (2025-09-11)
Suvarnaraja (2025-09-12)
Dhammaraja (2025-09-12)
Baramaraja (2025-09-13)
Chandrachota (2025-09-13)
Narai I (2025-09-13)
Phra Chao Luang (2025-09-14)
Sai Nam Peung (2025-09-14)
Dhammikaraja (2025-09-15)
Uthong I (2025-09-15)
Miss Grand Sri Lanka 2025 (2025-09-19)
Miss Grand Spain 2026 (2025-09-21)
Miss Grand Georgia (2025-09-24)
Miss Grand Iceland (2025-09-25)
Miss Grand Portugal (2025-09-28)
Miss Grand Guyana (2025-09-28)
Siddhijaya Brahmadeva (2025-09-27)
Kakabhadra (2025-09-29)
Kalavarnadisharaja (2025-09-29)
Shridravya (2025-09-30)
October 2025
Sai Thong Som (2025-10-01)
Manohanaraj (2025-10-01)
Sikaraj (2025-10-01)
Kesariraja (2025-10-02)
Balipatijaya (2025-10-02)
Phraya Kong (2025-10-03)
Phraya Pan (2025-10-03)
Ramapandita (2025-10-03)
Anga Indra (2025-10-03)
Kar Tayy (2025-10-03)
Vijayaraja (2025-10-07)
Srisimha (2025-10-07)
Surindraraja (2025-10-07)
Suryavamsa (Siamese king) (2025-10-07)
Anuraja (2025-10-07)
Visnuraja (2025-10-08)
Balidhiraja (2025-10-14)
Abhayakamini (2025-10-14)
Sricandradhipati (2025-10-14)
Arunaraja (2025-10-15)
E Daeng Phloeng (2025-10-15)
Suvacanaraja (2025-10-16)
Dharmatriloka (2025-10-16)
Rajadhiraj II (2025-10-17)
Sri Naw Nam Thum (2025-10-17)
November 2025
Candraraja (2025-11-06)
Suryaraja (2025-11-07)
Sudhammaraja (2025-11-09)
Khom Sabat Khlon Lamphong (2025-11-12)
December 2025
Ketumāla (2025-12-07)
Prathivindravarman (2025-12-15)
Sri Dharmasokaraja I (2025-12-17)
Sri Dharmasokaraja V (2025-12-18)
Sri Dharmasokaraja II (2025-12-18)
Indaprasthanagara (2025-12-19)
Sindhob Amarin (2025-12-21)
Shīdámó Típó (2025-12-25)