Loan Agreement Placed on Signing Ceremony Banner was Altered

After Prime Minister Hun Sen presided over the signing ceremony of a loan document that South Korea provided to Cambodia recently, a picture showing the signing ceremony of a more than 2 billion USD loan was posted on social media. This photo has been shared and commented on many times by Khmer-speaking social media users. Fact Crescendo Cambodia found that the above users’ photos are incorrect.

This is about our investigation of this photo.

Social Media Claim

On December 13, 2022, a Facebook user recently posted two photos in, which. One shows Prime Minister Hun Sen participating in an official ceremony to borrow more than $2 billion from the Republic of Korea. This post is linked to the caption stating, “Not worry, just borrowed 2 billion USD”.

The photo posted above has been shared many times by social media users, along with various expressions and reactions. The following is a screenshot captured from the Facebook user's post above.

Facebook Post | Archived Link

Fact Check

Fact Crescendo Cambodia started to check the above photo through Google Reverse Image Search, which led us to find the truth.

Photos of the same shape and format were found and posted on the official Facebook page of Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen on December 9, 2023, recently. The photo above does not show a banner featuring a “$2 Billion Loan”.

The following is a screenshot image captured from the Facebook page that reads in Khmer or translates in English as “Samdech Techo Hun Sen presides over at the signing ceremony, a loan of 1.5 billion USD was received from South Korea”.

The following is an original photo that shows Prime Minister Hun Sen participating in the signing ceremony between Cambodia and the Republic of Korea.

Facebook Post | Archived Link

The following video clip shows Hun Sen participating in the signing ceremony of the handover and loan from the Republic of Korea while the banner reads only “Signing Ceremony”.

The following compares the altered image and the original image found on social media in Cambodia.

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You may find the details of this fact-check in Khmer language here as well.

Conclusion

Fact Crescendo Cambodia finds that the photos and statements made by the above Facebook users are inaccurate. This photo factually does not depict nor place a loan agreement on a signing ceremony banner.