A photo of Hun Sen and his wife in Khmer Rouge uniforms altered
As Cambodia is approaching another main election this year, claims and rumors related to Prime Minister Hun Sen and his family members have been circulated on social media by his political opponents. One of them is a recent photo showing PM Hun Sen and his wife in the Khmer Rouge uniforms. The photo also depicts Hun Sen’s wife Bun Rany holding an AK-49 rifle in hand. The photo has been widely shared by Khmer-speaking social media users along with a mixture of comments and reactions. After checking by running Google Reverse Image, however, it proves the photo was altered.
Social Media Claim
A Facebook user posted on Monday a photo showing Prime Minister Hun Sen and his wife Bun Rany in the Khmer Rouge black uniform. The photo also depicts the premier’s wife holding an AK-49 rifle in hand. This photo was shared into social media groups where more than 12,000 Facebook users are members.
Below is a capture of the Facebook user’s post read: “Khmer Rouge’s East Zone group was founded by Yuon [Vietnam] to kill Khmer, invade Cambodia, destroy Khmer, divide Khmer and Cambodia’s internal every generation. Now the Vietnam puppet group trains their next generation with an ambition to swallow Cambodia soon.”
Fact Check
Fact Crescendo Cambodia began checking the photo by running Google Reverse Image, leading us to see the original image and exact information as well.
Before running Google Reverse Image, we cropped the photo claimed above into two pieces; one contains PM Hun Sen and another one is his wife.
As result, we found the original photo showing a man in the Khmer Rouge uniform and holding a gun as well. This image was published by Panos Pictures’s website, saying it is part of the book “The Lost Executioner” printed in 2005.
The Lost Executioner | Archived Link
Below is a comparison between the altered photo posted by social media users and the original image found in the book “The Lost Executioner” written by an Irish photographer and author Nic Dunlop.
The other original piece of the claimed photo was found in Getty Images saying a girl called “Mitr Neary” – female comrade by the Khmer Rouge regime – holding an AK-49 rifle. The photo caption shows it was taken in the western jungle of Cambodia by Alex Bowie on February 15, 1981.
Below is a comparison between the altered photo posted by the social media user and the original image found in Getty Images.
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Conclusion
Fact Crescendo Cambodia found the photo as mentioned above was altered. The images do not show Prime Minister Hun Sen and his wife in the Khmer Rouge uniforms. The original images depict a man and a woman in the Khmer Rouge uniform with an AK-49 rifles in their hands.
Title:A photo of Hun Sen and his wife in Khmer Rouge uniforms altered
Fact Check By: Jay UdomResult: Altered
