A Picture of Mu Sochua with an Activist Digitally Edited
More than a week ago, an opposition activist best known as Ah Sangha who lives in South Korea was reportedly arrested by the Korean police. Several hours later, a Facebook user posted a picture showing the activist taking a picture as a couple with Mu Sochua – one of Cambodia’s prominent female politicians from the dissolved opposition party CNRP. The picture comes with a caption saying they were in a romantic affair.
The picture had been shared many times on social media along with a mixture of comments, believing the picture is true. However, after running Google Reverse Image Search, we found the picture was digitally edited.
Social Media Claim
More than a week ago, a Facebook user uploaded a picture showing a Cambodian prominent female opposition politician Mu Sochua taking a picture as a couple with an opposition political activist self-named Ah Sang Ha who is living in South Korea.
The picture comes with a caption implying the dissolved opposition CNRP’s senior female leader has been in a romantic affair with the activist.
The picture along with the caption had been shared many times by Khmer-speaking social media users, and some commented on the picture, believing it was true.
Below is the capture of the post that reads “Kahu [Mu Sochua] help your husband …! Your husband was arrested by police. Then, you might not have sexual intercourse.”
The picture has been circulated on social media since 2018 along with a caption saying the nominee for Nobel Peace Prize had had a romantic relationship with the activist working in South Korea. See the capture below.
Fact Check
Fact Crescendo Cambodia began verification of the picture by running Google Reverse Image Search which led us to find out the facts below.
The image showing Mu Sochua wearing a scarf around her shoulder is available on some websites and searchable on the Internet.
The image on a web portal BORDERLESS shows Mu Sochua alone; no picture of the activist at all.
The image is credited to Vital Voice and photographed by a South African photographer Micky Wiswedel, according to the caption cited by the web portal.
With an in-depth search, we found out Micky Wiswedel took the photo of Mu Sochua in 2009, and it was published by Vital Voice Global Partnership for its story about the Cambodian opposition politician who was one a nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize.
See our comparison between the picture claimed by a Facebook user and the image originally published by the U.S.-based human rights organization.
In his personal Facebook account named Ah Sang Ha, we found a photo of the activist who was pictured with a woman in May 2018. The activist captioned on his account that he was on a trip with a group of Cambodian women visiting one of South Korea’s cities at the time.
Conclusion
Fact Crescendo Cambodia found out the picture described above was digitally altered. The original image is seen in Mu Sochua alone. The Cambodian prominent opposition politician was photographed in 2009 by South African photographer Micky Wiswedel. The image was later published by a U.S.-based human rights organization Vital Voice Global Partnership.
Title:A Picture of Mu Sochua with an Activist Digitally Edited
Fact Check By: Jay UdomResult: Altered
