While the freedom to create promotional content is rich and unrestricted, false, and misleading information also occurs in various forms, becoming a new concern for social media users as well as for Khmer and the national society. The following is a recap of important fact-finding events for 2023 in Cambodia.

The Top 5 Fact-Finding Events for 2023

As of the date of this article, the Fact Crescendo Cambodia team has been verifying and finding out the truth on more than 240 articles for the year 2023, including:

  1. 2023 Cambodian General Election

As Cambodia prepares for the 7th National Assembly Election 2023 on Sunday, July 27, 2023, the information, and false claims related to this important event have been circulated around and widely shared by the users, which have caused a negative impact on society and the nation.

The following is a snippet captured from a social media claim that reads, “From one mandate to another, as the election becomes less meaningful, more and more people are grieving, and the people are getting worse and worse”.

Please read the details of our verification via the link below:

A claim also states that voters who cast their ballots will be identified because the National Election Committee (NEC) requires voters to thumbprint their ballots. This claim has been widely shared on social media and has attracted a lot of comments. Please read the details below:

  1. Relations between Cambodia and Vietnam

While Cambodian-Vietnamese relations have always been debated and become a hot topic on social media, photos, videos, and testimonials have been widely shared and received mixed feedback from social media users who are speaking Khmer.

The following is a snapshot of the claim posted on social media on November 29, 2023, saying, “More than 100,000 Vietnamese nationals have been granted Cambodian nationality in a year”.

Please read the details of our verification via this link (archived link).

On August 1, 2023, a Facebook page called “Khmer History” also posted a video clip showing a school with students queuing and raising the Vietnamese flag along with the Cambodian flag.

Read more details here:

  1. War between Israel and Hamas Palestine

While the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a major offensive in Israel on Saturday, October 7, 2023, many photos, and video clips were shared on social media that were attached to an incorrect claim.

The following is a snippet example captured from a claim on social media on November 22, 2023, saying that “more than 200 Muslim men have recently accepted Jesus because of all 200 people who dreamed of the same Jesus in one night. Praise be to God!”.

You can also read more about our verification via the link below:

After the Royal Government of Cambodia stated that it would not evacuate its citizens from Israel, there has been much debate online around this issue. There were also many reports that two more Cambodian students had been killed in a recent offensive between Israel and Hamas.

Please read the details below:

  1. Images and videos produced by artificial intelligence (AI)

Fact Crescendo Cambodia has also verified images and video clips created by AI software but also by web users. Some social media users say and believe that those images are real.

Please read the details of our verification via the link below:

Several photos showing large groups of people and pets have also been posted on social media with the caption, “Animals back in the old days were very big”.

Read the details here:

  1. First Cambodian SEA Games 2023

As the kingdom played host to the 32nd SEA Games in May, the first time in 64 years, and the China-aided Morodok Techo National Stadium in Phnom Penh was the centerpiece venue for the official opening and closing ceremonies as well as tournaments of the Games, there are widely shared articles and claims. As such, a video of Cambodian athlete Bou Samnang struggling to run under the heavy rain at the SEA Games received a lot of attention from the public, who claimed that the athlete won a difficult gold medal. See the details here.

Also, an image showing a girl wearing Vietnamese customs and walking in front of a group of Cambodian athletes was circulated on social media and claimed to be the official opening of the event hosted in Cambodia. The claim has been widely shared and commented on. However, we found out that the post described above is misleading. The image showing a girl wearing Vietnamese traditional clothing and walking in front of Cambodian athletes is from the 31st SEA Game hosted in Vietnam last year. In the official opening ceremony of the 32nd SEA Game hosted by Cambodia this year, a girl dressed in Cambodian traditional clothing was assigned to walk in front of each team of athletes from countries in the region. Read the full story here.

How can Cambodian social media users prevent the distribution of fake news?

Indeed, the consequences of spreading false news and misleading information have a very negative impact on society and the nation. Round. Fact Crescendo Cambodia has also found that it can confuse communities and societies by causing racism, loss of trust in public institutions, theft of personal data of citizens, affecting security, public order, and so on.

In a context where fake news is attacking social media, Khmer-speaking social media users need to be extra careful before believing or sharing.

When seeing suspicious information, users should not react quickly, believe it, or share it immediately. Be sure to find the source first because most of the information is fake and misleading for economic gain or for political gain only.

You can also send us any videos, photos, or messages that you have doubts about through the phone number or our WhatsApp (+855) 15 437 538.

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You may find the details of this report in Khmer language here as well.

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Title: 2023 Review: Important fact-finding events in Cambodia

Written By: Kakada Sim

Result: Insight

CambodiaFact Crescendo CambodiaFake NewsMisleading