Phnom Penh: Minister of Information, Khieu Kanharith, wants a quarterly report on fake news in the kingdom so that a plan for promoting and developing the journalism profession in Cambodia can be made. In his weekly meeting on Monday, the Minister said all statistics regarding fake news stories should be collected and compiled into the quarterly summary, including the name of the author and the site or platform on which the story was published.

Ministry of Information spokesperson, Meas Sophorn, told EAC News that the purpose was to make it easier for the Ministry to resolve issues relating to the publication of fake news. He told us, “What kind of situation is it? Is fake news increasing or decreasing from year to year? Through the dissemination of real information and educational outreach, we can also organize training workshops so that journalists become more knowledgeable and verify news”.

The Ministry says three key principles should be adopted: encourage the writing of factual news, more education and encouraging the practice of corrections. According to the spokesperson, in August alone, the Ministry of information dealt with 160 complaints of fake news, nine of which have been sent to the authorities for further action.