Fact Check: Is It True That Hun Sen has No Hair?
A photo showing Cambodian king, Norodom Sihamoni, having hair while Cambodian prime minister, Hun Sen, having no hair was posted on Facebook Group recently. This photo may be believed by some users that it was the real photo while it was reacted to and shared by many Khmer-speaking social media users. However, after checking and running Google Reverse Image by Fact Crescendo Cambodia team, it proves that the photo above is altered.
This is about our investigation of this claim.
Social Media Claim
On July 23, 2021, one of the Facebook users posted a photo into the Facebook Group called “Facebook Activist To Save The Nation” showing the prime minister, Hun Sen, standing and greeting his majesty the King Norodom Sihamoni. This photo also shows the view of the king Norodom Sihamoni, who has normal hair, while the prime minister, Hun Sen, has no hair. The same user did not specify the location or specific details of the photo aspect. This photo has been reacted and shared many times by Khmer-speaking Facebook users.
The following screenshot was captured from the Facebook user’s post, translated in English as “In Cambodia, let's not talk about the law of justice, the courts, freedom, democracy and fair elections, there is none, not even secret ballots”.
Fact Check
Fact Crescendo Cambodia had started to check and verify this photo directly by running a Google Reverse Image search, which brought us to the sources containing the following photos.
A photo with the exact same format and shape was found and published by China Daily news media on October 15, 2012. The below screenshot states in English that “Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen (L) greets Cambodia's King Norodom Sihamoni as the king arrives at Phnom Penh international airport before his departure for China, Oct 15, 2012. [Photo/Agencies]”.
China Daily’s Report | Archived Link
One of the largest news agencies in the world, Reuters, also posted and published a photo of the same format in its report on October 15, 2012, on the visit of his majesty the King Norodom Sihamoni to Beijing. The following screenshot was captured from the news agency showing the trip to China of Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni while the prime minister, Hun Sen, who also attended the royal visit.
Reuters’s Report | Archived Link
According to another international news website the Global Times that was published and posted a photo of the same format of his majesty the King Norodom Sihamoni and the prime minister of Cambodia on October 16, 2012, which factually did not show about Hun Sen had no hair and the Cambodian king, Norodom Sihamoni, had a normal hair.
An image from the news website states in English that “Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni (R) shakes hands with Prime Minister Hun Sen (L) before departing for China at Phnom Penh International airport on Monday. Cambodia's former king Norodom Sihanouk, whose life mirrored the turbulent history of his nation where he remained a revered figure, died in Beijing on Sunday”.
Global Times’s Report | Archived Link
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You may find the details of this fact-check in Khmer language here as well.
Conclusion
Fact Crescendo Cambodia has found that the photo posted and claimed by the above user is altered. This photo had been edited before it was posted on social media. The original photo was factually found and it shows that Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni has no hair while the Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has normal hair.
