Photo Showing Hun Sen Licking Ballot Box Altered
As the national election approaches, photos and videos of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and his family have come under fire which has been edited frequently and shared on many social media platforms. Meanwhile, a photo showing Cambodian PM, Hun Sen licking a ballot box was posted on Facebook recently. This photo was reacted with mixed comments and reshared by Facebook users who are speaking Khmer. However, after running a Google Reverse Image search, it proves that the photo above was altered.
This is our investigation about this photo.
Social Media Claim
On January 20, 2022, one of the Facebook users posted a photo showing the scene of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen licking the ballot box. The same user added that in Khmer that “Vote. What else? The more Cambodians are thrown, the more they die, the more they are imprisoned, the more they are divided”. This photo attached with the claim above has received mixed reactions from users and shared several times on Facebook.
The following image was captured from a Facebook user's post that reads in Khmer and translates in English as “Most people do not seem to be interested in the election, nor do they go to register to vote or look at the list. Do not vote because you do not know what the benefit of voting is? The more Cambodians are thrown, the more they die, the more they are imprisoned, the more they are divided, the nation, the land, the more it is destroyed, and Cambodians are more discriminating”.
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.
An exact photo of the same shape and form was found on the Getty Image website, a British-American visual media company that is a supplier of stock images, editorial photography, video, and music for business and consumers, with an archive of over 200 million assets.
The following screenshot was captured from the news media above which states in English that “Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen looks at a ballot box after he cast his ballot at a polling station in Kandal province on June 4, 2017. Millions of Cambodians started voting in local polls on Sunday, testing the political temperature of a country rife with tension between its strongman premier and an embattled opposition determined to end his three-decade rule”.
Getty Image Link | Archived Link
Similarly, according to the South China Morning Post news website, published on December 28, 2017, It also shows an exact photo of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen looking at the ballot box. The above website does not show his tongue stuck with the ballot box at all. The following photo was captured from the news media website written in English as “Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen looks at a ballot box after he casts his vote at a polling station for local polls in June”.
South China Morning Post News 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 Facebook user was altered. It had been edited before it was posted on social media. This photo factually shows the view of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen looking at the ballot box at the polling election in Kandal province on June 4, 2017, without showing the view of his tongue licking to the ballot box at all.
