The Facebook pages of three independent foreign-based media outlets have been criticized on social media by groups dressed in military uniforms and accounts with one or two photos. These groups allegedly used insulting language, accusing the outlets of foreign service and spreading fake news.
Media experts described the comments as not made by common people but of a “well-organized group”, and “likely targeting non-state-controlled media as well as media outlets based abroad”. The media outlets mostly reported the “inactivity” of government officials, and social issues.
Experts also opined that the groups may have been created for the benefit of “one party”.
To find out the exact identity of the three accounts, CamboJA journalists researched several accounts and Facebook pages which left comments on the pages of the media outlets, VOD (Voice of Democracy) Khmer, Radio Free Asia (RFA) Khmer and The Cambodia Daily Khmer.
Based on the type of criticism, the researchers decided to divide them into two groups.
One group posted pictures wearing military uniforms and military-related activities while the other consisted of Facebook pages, which were recently created or had been around for one or two years. A few pictures were posted there, although some were vague or of poor quality. The pages also had only a few followers or friends.
The pages with critical comments on specific articles or videos were set up by newly-created groups. In addition to criticism in the general comment segment, the groups also set up dialogues aimed at supporting the first commenter’s views.
Journalists also noted that the groups targeted articles or videos which carried critical news about the government or government officers.
Criticism by military uniformed groups
There were tens of thousands of comments on news contents, which were the target of research. Owing to the massive volume, the research focused on Facebook accounts or pages behind the first 100 comments.
To ensure accuracy, the researchers chose May 16, 2024 as a common date to check the comments posted on the three institutions’ news content.
The Facebook accounts and pages behind the first 100 comments revealed that most of them posted military-related activities and wore military uniforms. Some of them repeatedly commented on a single live broadcast .
An RFA Khmer News published on May 16, 2024 had a total of 16,234 comments. The first 100 comments were critical and displayed abusive or insulting words.
Of the first 100 comments, 87 were made by accounts whose users wore military uniforms, six by users whose profile photos were mixed (motorcycles, people wearing masks, accounting blocks and others), and seven by users who posted pictures relating to the Cambodian People’s Party and Funan Techo Canal.
Among the 87 comments by military uniformed accounts, one of them called “Hy Pengleap” commented the most – 11 times. In one of the 11 comments, Hy Pengleap wrote “forever bias” on the RFA Khmer live broadcast.
CamboJA News attempted to contact Hy Pengleap several times via Facebook to no avail.
On October 27, 2022, Hy Pengleap posted a picture on Facebook with a caption, “I am an officer in the Banteay Meanchey military operation area”.
Some 6,801 comments were made on a VOD Khmer broadcast published on May 16 with journalists researching the first 100 comments of the total.
Out of the first 100 accounts, only five accounts praised the publication with the majority of comments criticizing VOD news coverage. Sixty-one comments came from accounts whose user profiles wore military uniforms. They also allegedly used offensive language and called VOD “fake radio”, “social pollution”, “traitor”, “bias”, “crazy”, and others.
Nineteen comments were from accounts which could not be accessed as they were “locked” while others posted pictures of babies, robots and foreigners. “Vey Tak”, whose account was on private mode, said VOD was a “media outlet serving foreign interests”. Another account, Pa Na Na, with a profile photo of a baby, said VOD was “broadcasting the crazy”.
Accounts of 15 commenters had pictures relating to the CPP and support for the canal project, whereas 61 comments came from profiles of people in military uniforms. One of them was “PHēā Rēāk”, who commented eight times.
CamboJA News could not reach PHēā Rēāk via Facebook. According to his social media account, he is “working at the Royal Cambodian Army”. In one of the photos, he is seen in a uniform bearing the name tag Pen Pheareak.
Meanwhile, the Idea Talk show organized by Cambodia Daily Khmer on the night of May 16, 2024, saw a total of 10,021 comments.
Based on the research of the first 100 comments, 48 comments were made by accounts with profile photos of people wearing military uniforms, 37 were by users with an assortment of profile photos. Eleven comments were by accounts with profiles related to the CPP or supporters of the canal project.
Out of 48 comments, 13 were posted by “Borey SaNith”, which was the most. When contacted using the telephone number listed on his account, Borey SaNith cut the call, when asked to comment by CamboJA News about his posts on Cambodia Daily Khmer’s event on Facebook. The person did not pick up the following calls.
On April 10, 2024, Borey SaNith posted a picture accusing him of being hired to criticize RFA Khmer on his Facebook accounts, saying that he was criticizing RFA Khmer because he was “bored” of the slanderous propaganda of this institution.
Meanwhile, Royal Cambodian Army spokesperson Mao Phalla said no order was issued to the soldiers to post comments. “There is no regulation. The army does not have a directive to insult others.”
Commenting on social media was a private matter, he said. “But if I saw [it], I could also collect the information to report to superiors, but I didn’t see it,” he added.
Phalla said the issue will be investigated but referred reporters to the spokesperson of the Ministry of National Defense, as the army comes under the ministry.
Ministry spokesperson Chhum Socheat said they did not order army personnel to criticize RFA, VOD and Cambodia Daily Khmer on Facebook. However, he added, if there were any comments, it was the “right of the individual”.
“I don’t follow up on this,” he said. “No one does this at the ministry […] only think about work [to protect] the territory and [to help] the people. […] Expressing opinions is an individual matter [but] the ministry does not support [the act].”
Criticism by recently-created group
In addition to “critical comments”, dialogues with the aim of supporting the original commentary or page which posted a statement were set up, journalists noticed.
Due to the large volume of correspondence, they researched the first commenter and the accounts of the first 10 respondents to that comment on June 29, 2024.
The group comprised pages with a “small number of followers or likes”, below 100.
The correspondence, page and account are intended to support the first “critical” commenter. Some of them post only one or two images, such as dolls. The quality of some of the images appear to be poor.
Some of the Facebook pages and accounts posted pictures of Prime Minister Hun Manet and tycoon Leng Navatra. Many of them revealed a trend of sharing posts from Hun Manet’s page and Leng Navatra’s companies.
Research showed that out of the first 10 comments supporting negative views on RFA Khmer, eight regularly shared Hun Manet’s and Leng Navatra’s company posts.
Similarly, six accounts (representing seven views), which posted comments on Cambodia Daily Khmer’s page, had a history of sharing posts by Hun Manet and those by Leng Navatra’s companies. As for VOD, only two pages appeared in the comment box, with a total of 10 comments for responding to the first commenter. They all shared identical traits when sharing posts from Leng Navatra’s page.
An article by RFA Khmer, titled “Citizens cheated by the Khmer Village Group company asks the authorities to expedite the settlement after the company owner was arrested,” was published at 10.02 a.m on June 29, 2024.
Not too long later, “Chhouen Bunchhon ឈឿន ប៊ុនឈន”, a Facebook user, became the first to comment. A total of 133 comments were seen, with 74 comments or replies to “Chhouen Bunchhon ឈឿន ប៊ុនឈន” made.
On June 30, at 10:43 am, Chhouen Bunchhon ឈឿន ប៊ុនឈន “criticized” RFA Khmer for “selling its ideals to foreigners”. “There is a law to solve it, and legal procedures. As they say, it’s a radio [RFA Khmer] which sells its ideals to foreigners and beats Cambodians”.
The timestamp of the first 10 replies to Chhouen Bunchhon ឈឿន ប៊ុនឈន showed that on average, there was one comment every three minutes. All the respondents, albeit with few followers, claimed that the statement was “true and correct”.
Two minutes after Chhouen Bunchhon ឈឿន ប៊ុនឈន posted his comment, Bro Nang TK replied, “Of course, brother (Chhouen Bunchhon ឈឿន ប៊ុនឈន), I’ve never seen RFA Khmer publish good news from the society. On the contrary, RFA Khmer always broadcasts exaggerated information and attacks the leadership.”
The page has “one” like and 38 followers. (The followers of this page mostly have a small number of followers). Bro Nang TK’s page had an image of a “young man” in a pink shirt standing on the roof.
Two minutes after Bro Nang TK’s comment, Chorn Bunnang commented: “That’s right brother (Chhouen Bunchhon ឈឿន ប៊ុនឈន), this RFA Khmer is a very cheap radio because the information that comes out of this radio is all [a] fabrication and slander.”
An account with a username Chhou Zem replied to Chhouen Bunchhon ឈឿន ប៊ុនឈន at 11:10 a.m, “That’s right brother, these guys [RFA Khmer staff] only criticize to cause chaos in society.”
A minute later, Zemzem agreed, saying, “This group never tells the truth. [They] only write to cause chaos and confuse people about the leader. [I] do not understand, if [RFA Khmer] can stop, they should stop.”
Chhou Zem’s account has four friends, while Zemzem’s page has “no likes and no followers”. The page was created on June 26, 2024. Three days later it criticized RFA Khmer.
Of correspondences and comments
On June 29, an interview between Cambodia Daily Khmer reporter Taing Sarada and Soeng Senkaruna on “Freedom, Civil Society and Trade Unions in Cambodia” went online at 3.29 p.m.
At 10:43 a.m the next day, “Sim Vannda ស៊ីម វ៉ាន់ដា” commented that unions and civil society groups were “fake patriots” and carried out activities with foreigners backing them.
“No one is accusing [civil society and trade unions] but it is clear that these civil society groups and unions are taking foreign money and serving foreigners. Because all the actions have foreigners behind them, and I have not seen this civil society and the union groups as patriotic,” Sim Vannda ស៊ីម វ៉ាន់ដា said.
The news elicited a total 70 comments, while the comment by Sim Vannda ស៊ីម វ៉ាន់ដា drew 78 replies. The first 10 commenters who responded to Sim Vannda ស៊ីម វ៉ាន់ដា’s agreed with his views.
The page, which was originally created on June 26, 2023, has 5,700 followers and 1,700 likes under the name “CEO Vannda” but renamed “Sim Vannda ស៊ីម វ៉ាន់ដា” on August 8, 2023. The page posts videos of Hun Manet’s speech.
On May 3, 2024, Sim Vannda ស៊ីម វ៉ាន់ដា released a video of a man criticizing a report by Cambodia Daily Khmer titled “Customs officials accused Kun Nhim of bribing Hun Manet’s wife to ask for a postponement for three years”. Sim Vannda ស៊ីម វ៉ាន់ដា wrote a caption, “[It] affects the feelings of the audience, especially the dignity of the nation and leader.”
On December 30, 2023, Sim Vannda ស៊ីម វ៉ាន់ដា posted a New Year message to Leng Navatra and his wife, identifying himself as an employee of Galaxy Navatra Group.
Three minutes after the comment by Sim Vannda ស៊ីម វ៉ាន់ដា, Facebook user Sok Ly responded to him. Sok Ly said Cambodia Daily Khmer “broadcasts news just to exchange for food. [They] never broadcast good news, only broadcast to serve foreigners”.
The page was created on November 6, 2023, with six followers and no likes. It posted one picture of a young woman wearing a white shirt.
Both the Sim Vannda ស៊ីម វ៉ាន់ដា and Sok Ly pages have a history of sharing posts by Hun Manet and Leng Navatra. In February, Sok Ly shared Hun Manet’s video, “The interest of the masses abroad who support the strict orders of the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia in the fight against drugs”, 40 times.
In reply to Sim Vannda ស៊ីម វ៉ាន់ដា regarding Cambodia Daily Khmer at 10.48 a.m., Long Samnang said: “Your statement is correct. The radio only posts the information that pollutes society daily.” This page has one like, and 21 followers, and was created on August 28, 2023, with a photo of a young man without a shirt.
On September 7, 2023, Long Samnang shared Palestinian Prime Minister’s congratulatory message to Hun Manet when he became Prime Minister. He shared the message 14 times within a minute.
Another Facebook page called Yin Sok Samnang told Sim Vannda ស៊ីម វ៉ាន់ដា, “I do not understand this media institution [Cambodia Daily Khmer]. It does not know how to do anything, that’s why it posts daily to pollute society and attack the leader”.
The page was created on August 30, 2023, has seven followers but no “likes” on its posts. As for photos, there is only one picture of a young man dressed in a white shirt.
Since the creation of the Facebook page, Yin Sok Samnang shared several posts from Hun Manet’s page, while one post was shared many times.
Critical and non-critical
News portal VOD published an article “Civil society groups say that the investigation on CENTRAL is an excuse to threaten the right to freedom of expression” on June 29, 2024, which drew 102 comments.
The first commenter, Sai, asked “who said Cambodia threatened freedom of expression” and whether they had studied CENTRAL’s activities. “The human rights situation will not deteriorate if their act was legal,” Sai said.
Following Sai’s comment, there were 10 correspondence but only two remained, while eight others “disappeared” after a while. Journalists decided to research the two commenters, and the first eight in the general comment box where 102 comments were recorded.
The two correspondents’ pages were “សីហា” and “Chhon YT”. សីហា had 26 followers and was created on May 31, 2023. It contained two photos of a young man in a white shirt bowing.
Since the page’s creation, សីហា has only shared one post from the page of Leng Navatra, entitled “My team and all units will start using CoolApp from now on. If you support, comment below”.
“Chhon YT” page was created on June 30, 2024, on the same day as VOD’s post.
Separately, there were eight comments, five of which said VOD was “polluting and damaging” the national image. However, three comments said Cambodia was “led by a dictator” and was “cracking down on NGOs”, while calling for respect for labor laws.
These commenters’ accounts had “many friends”. “Re Kh” has nearly 3,000 friends, “Khorng Sokha” (about 1,000 friends), and “杰洪” (about 200 friends).
In contrast, the five pages and accounts, Chhon YT”, “Luk Yun”, “Reaksmey Ros”, “Sieng Veata” and “Channary Vichear” which criticized VOD did not have “friends” and had only two or three pictures, while the number of likes was low.
Chhon YT, who commented in support of Sai’s remarks, also commented in the general comment box. “I think it’s enough to turn off the radio! All the broadcasts are self-created information for political gain, and their groups [are] willing to fabricate information for publication.”
Groups of similar pictures and activities
Notably, the image on the profile page of “Sim Vannda ស៊ីម វ៉ាន់ដា”, the first to comment on the Cambodia Daily Khmer, was the same image posted by Sai, the first commenter of VOD Khmer.
Meanwhile, the cover photos of “Chhouen Bunchhon ឈឿន ប៊ុនឈន”, the first to comment on RFA Khmer, and “Sim Vannda សុីម វ៉ាន់ដា” were similar, revealing group photos.
The picture showed men standing on a stage in uniformed white shirts and black or blue pants. They were joined by Prime Minister Hun Manet, ex-premier Hun Sen’s sister Hun Sinath, Minister of Labor and Vocational Training Heng Sour, Minister of Public Works and Transport Peng Ponea, and Kim Santepheap, secretary of state of Ministry of Justice, among others.
The photo was taken during an event called, “The ceremony for conversation and dining in solidarity with the social media team”.
A check showed that “Luk Yun”, “Reaksmey Ros”, “Sieng Veata”, and “Channary Vichear”, who criticized VOD Khmer, had a history of posting the same pictures on their profile.
For instance, “Luk Yun” posted a profile picture on February 28, 2024, at 5:06 pm and a cover photo on December 31, 2023, at 8:54 am. “Channary Vichear” also posted a profile picture on February 28, 2024, at 5:06 pm and a cover photo on December 31, 2023, at 8:52 am.
“Reaksmey Ros” posted a profile picture on February 28, 2024, at 5.04 p.m and a cover photo on December 30, 2023, at 5.55 p.m. “Sieng Veata” also posted a profile picture on February 28, 2024, at 5.04 p.m. and a cover photo on December 30, 2023, at 5.54 p.m.
It should be noted that two profiles’ content and cover photo links have since been removed.
Chhon YT, which criticized VOD Khmer, posted a picture of a young man sitting and typing on the computer, wearing a mask, and another picture in English, with the letter “C” (later deleted).
The posting of the English character for the first name is the same as the page which supported Sim Vannda ស៊ីម វ៉ាន់ដា’s criticism of Cambodia Daily Khmer. There were six pages such as Yin Sok Samnang, Long Samnang, Sok Ly, Soly Ka, Reaksme, and Zemzem.
For example, Yin Sok Samnang posted a picture with the letter “Y”. Long Samnang posted a picture with the letter “L”. Sok Ly posted a picture with the letter “S”. Soly Ka posted a picture with the letter “S”, Reaksmey posted a picture with the letter “R” and Zemzem posted a picture of the letter “Z”.
Meanwhile, six out of 10 pages supported Chhouen Bunchhon ឈឿន ប៊ុនឈន in criticizing RFA Khmer. They include Bro Nang TK, Chorn Bunnang, Reaksmey, Hin Dara, Sok Ly and Zemzem, who posted English characters based on their first name.
Bro Nang TK posted a picture “B”, Chorn Bunnang posted a picture “C”, Reaksmey posted a picture “R”, Hin Dara posted a picture “H”, Sok Ly posted a picture “S” and Zemzem posted a picture with the letter “Z”.
Meanwhile, Facebook user Long Samnang shared Hun Manet’s congratulatory message on “Cambodia’s 23rd National Literacy Day” 15 times in one minute at 1.51 p.m on September 8, 2023. Yin Sok Samnang shared the same message 56 times two minutes later.
On the same day, Long Samnang shared live videos from Hun Manet’s page six times in two minutes at 2.06 p.m. The video showed Hun Manet’s return from the ASEAN summit in Indonesia. Yin Sok Samnang shared the video 37 times at the same time.
On December 14, 2023, Long Samnang shared an article and video by Fresh News titled “Government spokesperson: There is no policy to allow Vietnam’s Vingroup to operate an electric taxi company in Cambodia” around 8.30 a.m. The article and video were also shared at the same time by Bro Nang TK and Chorn Bunnang.
Commenters have same account names
There are six accounts and pages of the first 10 commenters supporting the criticism, against RFA Khmer and Cambodia Daily Khmer. The commenters revealed the same account names.
On June 30, at 10.46 a.m., Sok Ly wrote a comment supporting the criticism. “Of course, brother [Sim Vannda ស៊ីម វ៉ាន់ដា], Cambodia Daily Khmer broadcasts news just to exchange for food, never broadcasts good news, that is, only broadcast to serve foreign.”
Six minutes later, Sok Ly also supported the criticism on the RFA Khmer, and similarly commented on Cambodia Daily Khmer, saying, “That’s right, brother [Chhouen Bunchhon ឈឿន ប៊ុនឈន] RFA Khmer broadcasts news just to exchange for food, never broadcasts good news, that is, only broadcast to serve foreign.”
On June 30, at 10:48 am, Reaksmey commented in support on the criticism on RFA Khmer saying, “That’s right, brother [Chhouen Bunchhon ឈឿន ប៊ុនឈន]. There is knowledge, but the analysis is about useless stories, never on national interest”. The account named ផន រស្មី said the same a minute later.
Immediately after that, Reaksmey, in support of the criticism against Cambodia Daily Khmer, said, “Of course brother [Sim Vannda ស៊ីម វ៉ាន់ដា], this group always pollutes society. They do not think about how to bring benefits to the nation”.
This comment was supported by ផន រស្មី. “That’s right brother [Sim Vannda ស៊ីម វ៉ាន់ដា]. Some people have brains and knowledge, but think lower than a child.”
Other commenters, like សុវណ្ណម៉េត កូនក្មែរ agreed with the criticism on RFA Khmer. Two minutes later, សុវណ្ណម៉េត កូនក្មែរ in its support over the criticism on Cambodia Daily Khmer, said, “The intentions of these extremists living abroad have done nothing good for the society”.
‘Everyone entitled to freedom of expression’
Around 11 a.m. on June 30, Zemzem and Chhou Zem made identical comments supporting Sim Vannda ស៊ីម វ៉ាន់ដា criticism on the Cambodia Daily Khmer. “This news team has no understanding of what should be published and what should not be published”.
Two minutes later, Chhou Zem commented again on the Cambodia Daily Khmer post. “Of course, brother, [Sim Vannda ស៊ីម វ៉ាន់ដា] this group always pollutes society. They did not think about how to do anything that was useful.”
He also supported Chhouen Bunchhon ឈឿន ប៊ុនឈន’s criticism of RFA Khmer, saying that “these guys always criticize [to cause] social chaos”.
Moments later, Zemzem also wrote in support. “This team never tells the truth, only causes chaos, which confuses the people about the leader, so if possible, please stop”.
Both Chhou Zem’s account and Zemzem’s page have a profile picture that looks the same. It shows only one person wearing a black T-shirt, with his head covered and back turned.
Both of them often shared posts from pages belonging to Hun Manet as well as Leng Navatra’s companies.
A Facebook user named Chhouen Bunchhon ឈឿន ប៊ុនឈន told CamboJA News by telephone that his comment on RFA Khmer were his own and that he was not hired by anyone. “Because the news broadcast [of RFA Khmer] looks like it has no real information,” he said.
Meanwhile, government spokesperson Pen Bona said Cambodia has 13 million Facebook accounts and every individual was entitled to freedom of expression.
He said if there were unsatisfactory views, “why don’t the institutions check their information? If someone makes an unfavorable comment, why not look at their information?”
CamboJA News could not reach tycoon Leng Navatra for comment.
Campaign to undermine information flow
Media experts opined that comments by unverified accounts were “intentional” with “bad intentions for any group”.
The similar actions and timing suggested a “systematic and well-structured campaign”, said Nop Vy, Executive Director of the Cambodian Journalists Alliance Association (CamboJA).
He claimed that the correct expressions are responsible expressions which come from “real accounts”.
At the time of writing, CamboJA had not received an email response from Rohit Mahajan, RFA spokesperson based in Washington, DC. CamboJA has not received a response from Taing Sarada, a reporter for Cambodia Daily Khmer, via Facebook Messenger.
VOD Khmer president Pa Nguon Teang said since VOD Khmer resumed operations abroad in October 2023, critical comments began to show.
Critics used repetitive words, which he thought of as a “systematic plot” to attack VOD Khmer by impersonating citizens.
“I think there will be some organization or group coordinating systematically. There is a clear organization for comments. The aim is to comment by impersonating citizens’ and it will [eventually] eliminate citizens’ comments.”
Nop Vy said the use of inappropriate language would create a poor environment for information access on social media, causing people to become bored of reading news on social media.
As for the consequences of acquiring real information, Vy stressed that it will affect the people’s decision to elect a leader in a democratic society.
He insisted on creating a conducive environment for people to access information because the loss of information and sharing of ideas from different backgrounds affect the perception of the younger generation on innovation and creative ideas.
“I think it’s a wrong campaign as it will affect society as a whole [because] it is not constructive criticism, but a campaign that undermines the flow of information.”
“It will impact the environment to access information on social media for citizens. I understand that the goal is only for one party, not for the common good,” Vy said.
Kyle James, media development trainer, consultant, and former journalist who has worked on media projects in Cambodia for many years said people, organizations, and institutions commonly refer to reporting that they do not like as “fake news”, claiming that it is misinformation or disinformation.
“This kind of tactic aims to discredit news organizations, which are reporting on things some groups don’t want coverage of. Or, at least to cast doubt on the truth of their report. In Cambodia, where many people get their news from Facebook, the strategy is seen as a worthwhile one to follow because a lot of people will potentially see the negative comments.”
James opined that the commenters probably preferred a media which only talked about the “good that powerful people and institutions do for the country” and “ignored problematic issues, like corruption, land rights and abuse of power”.
Nevertheless, he believed that it does not have to affect the three media negatively as long as they can do their work from abroad. What was important was adherence to accepted journalistic ethics and for there to be a strong sense of integrity. They should be able to stand behind their work and show that their coverage is fair, accurate and based on facts.
There are instances of “powerful interests”, such as the government, political parties or influential people running organized social media campaigns against media outlets and journalists in some countries. “So that’s possible in this case too,” James said.
He, however, noted that it was also possible that in some cases, the commenter was a private individual who “simply did not like the coverage of an issue that he or she saw on Facebook”.
