Was this the portrait photo of King Chey Chettha II?
As the national election approaches, criticism of political rhetoric linked to the history of Cambodia and Vietnam has become a topic of debate on social media. A photo of a man in royal attire is associated with a claim to be former Cambodian King Chey Chettha II, who caused the loss of Prey Nokor (Kampuchea Krom) territory to Vietnam. The claim was posted on a user’s Facebook account, with many shares and reactions. However, Fact Crescendo Cambodia’s fact-finding found that the photos linked to the claims above are false.
This is about our investigation of this photo.
Social Media Claim
On June 1, 2023, a Facebook user posted a photo showing a man in royal attire, linked to the claim that it was a portrait photo of Cambodian former King Chey Chettha II.
The above photo was shared many times by social media users, along with various expressions and reactions as well.
The following is a snapshot captured from the Facebook account of the user above, who claims to be a former Khmer king married to a Vietnamese wife.
Photos associated with such remarks have also been shared several times while receiving lots of mixed reactions from other Facebook users as well.
To see the full text of the same claim posted on social media by other Facebook users, please view through the link here (archived) or through another link here (archived) as well.
Fact Check
Fact Crescendo Cambodia started to review and verify the above claim through the Google Reverse Image Search process, which led us to find the following facts:
A black-and-white photo showing a man in royal attire was found on the Alamy website, confirming that he is not the former King of Cambodia, King Chey Chetha II, as claimed above. According to the website, the man is known as Khai Dinh, the 12th emperor of Vietnam of the Nguyen dynasty, which reigned from 1916 to 1925.
Below is a screenshot image captured from the Alamy website that describes the Vietnamese emperor Khai Dinh, whose real name was Nguyen Phuc Buu Dao, the son of Emperor Dong Khanh.
A portrait of the Vietnamese emperor Khai Dinh was also found on the Getty Images website, an American visual media company and supplier of stock images, editorial photography, video, and music for businesses and consumers.
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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 claims attached to the photos as described above are false. The original photo is of the Vietnamese emperor Khai Dinh, the 12th emperor of the Nguyen dynasty, which reigned from 1916 to 1925.
