As Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and leaders from the southeast Asian countries met U.S. President Joe Biden at the U.S.-ASEAN Special Summit in Washington D.C. last week, some people protested against the presence of those leaders at the meeting. Meanwhile, four photos showing groups of people staging protests against PM Hun Sen were posted on social media and claimed they were the people protesting against ASEAN autocratic leaders. The claim had been shared multiple times on social media along with reactions and comments. However, after running Google Reverse Image Search, we found the claim is false.
Social Media Claim
A Facebook user uploaded four photos on social media last week, showing groups of people staging protests against Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.
The social media user also claimed the photos were of Cambodian-Americans and Burmese-Americans staging demonstrations against PM Hun Sen who was at the U.S.-ASEAN Special Submit in Washington D.C. last week.
The claim had been shared many times along with a mixture of comments and reactions as well.
Below is the capture of the claim made by a social media user red “Cambodian-Americans and Burmese-Americans are protesting to condemn ASEAN’s autocratic leaders at the U.S.-ASEAN Special Summit.”
The claim was also shared with a social media group that has more than 40,000 Facebook accounts as members.
HUN SEN STOP EAVESDROPPING BRING BACK DEMOCRACY TO CAMBODIA
Fact Check
Fact Crescendo Cambodia began a verification over the claim by running Google Reverse Image Search which led us to find out the truth below.
A photo showing two Buddhit monks and people holding banners written “Hun Sen Stop Eavesdropping” and “Please Bring Back Democracy to Cambodia” was found in a Radio Free Asia (RFA) report published in October 2021.
The photo shows dozen of Cambodian-Americans protesting in front of the U.S. Congress on October 22, 2021, demanding PM Hun Sen obey the 1993 Paris Peace Accord, according to a RFA report.
Thus, this photo is unrelated to the protest of Cambodian-Americans against PM Hun Sen at the U.S.-ASEAN Special Summit in Washington D.C. last week.
Below is the capture of the photo in the RFA report. The full report can be read here.
Radio Free Asia | Archived Link
For other two photos: one shows a group of people holding a banner written “We don’t need you Hun Sen. You are not welcomed to Myanmar” and another one shows a picture of PM Hun Sen being stepped on by people. These photos were found in the Irrawaddy report published in January this year.
These photos show Burmese people going into the streets on January 06 this year to protest against PM Hun Sens’s visit to their country, according to the report.
PM Hun Sen went to Myanmar on January 07, becoming the first head of the international government to pay a visit to the country after the junta took power in a coup overthrowing the democratically elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021.
Thus, these photos are also unrelated to protests of the Burmese-Americans against ASEAN leaders at the U.S.-ASEAN Special Summit hosted in Washington D.C. last week.
The last photo showing a group of people holding a banner written “Save Myanmar” and Myanmar flag was found in the World Politics Review published in October last year.
The photo is of Myanmar people living in Thailand gathered in front of the Office of the United Nation in Bangkok on March 04, 2021 to protest against the coup overthrowing the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi last year.
Thus, this photo is nothing related to protests of Burmese-Americans against ASEAN leaders meeting with the U.S. President Joe Biden in Washington D.C. last week.
World Politics Review | Archived Link
As ASEAN Chairman, Prime Minister Hun Sen participated in the U.S.-ASEAN Special Summit hosted by the President Joe Biden in Washington D.C. on 12-13 May.
A group of Cambodian-Americans staged a protest against PM Hun Sen, demanding the premier to restore democracy and respect human rights in Cambodia.
For photos showing protest of Cambodian-Americans last week, please visit VOA here.
Conclusion
Fact Crescendo Cambodia found out the claim mentioned above is missing context. The four photos were old images showing protests against Prime Minister Hun Sen and the military regime in Myanmar. These images are nothing related to protests against ASEAN leaders who participated in the U.S.-ASEAN Special Summit in Washington D.C. last week.
Title:Old Images of Demonstrations Unrelated to Protests at the U.S.-ASEAN Summit
Fact Check By: Jay UdomResult: Missing Context
