After a Buddhist monk, Von Vasi Chanmoni, has been widely debated on social media for several weeks, a claim going viral on Facebook said King’s Mother Norodom Monieath Sihanouk issued a royal letter inviting him to participate in a Buddhist ceremony in Kampot province in November. The claim has been widely shared and debated among Khmer-speaking social media users. However, we found the claim to be false.
SOCIAL MEDIA CLAIM
A picture of a royal letter was circulated on social media last week, saying King’s Mother Norodom Monineath Sihanouk inviting a Buddhist monk, Von Vasi Chanmoni, to participate in a Buddhist ceremony that will be organized in a temple in Kampot province.
A lot of Cambodian Buddhist followers have widely respected the venerable Von Vasi Chanmoni for several weeks. His name has been widely shared and debated on social media recently.
The viral claim has been widely shared and debated on social media by Khmer-speaking social media users.
Below is the capture of the claim which was widely circulated on social media last week.
The same claim was also posted by other Facebook users on the same day last week. Below is the capture of the claim.
Below is the capture of another Facebook post sharing the same caption related to the venerable Von Vasi Chanmoni.
The claim was reported by a local media outlet without having any clarification from the Royal Palace of Cambodia. The news piece was just accredited to the picture of the controversial royal letter.
សារព័ត៌មានត្រយ៉ង | Archived Link
We can see the same claim posted on social media by other Facebook users via a link here (archived) or another link here (archived).
The royal letter was initially circulated on social media by a Facebook user Thong Nidamony, however it was taken down about one hour later.
Below is the capture of the initial post by Thong Nidamony before it was deleted.
FACT CHECK
Fact Crescendo Cambodia began debunking the claim mentioned above by reaching out to Cambodia’s Royal Palace and checking local media outlets. Then, we found the facts below.
After the royal letter was widely shared on social media, the social media community speaking Khmer language questioned whether the letter is authentic. This led local media outlets to dig out the authentication of the letter.
Then, the Royal Palace released a clarification letter, saying the letter mentioned above is “fake”, according to a report by TVK – the sate television.
ទូរទស្សន៍ជាតិកម្ពុជា TVK | Archived Link
Fact Crescendo Cambodia could not reach out the Royal Palace spokesperson for comments and further clarification.
The Royal Palace’s clarification had been reported by other local media outlets Vayo (archived), CNC (archived), and the Interior Ministry (archived).
CONCLUSION
Fact Crescendo Cambodia found out the claim mentioned earlier is false. Cambodia’s Royal Palace dismissed the claim, saying the letter is fake.
