PHNOM PENH: Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has stopped using Facebook to communicate with the public in favour of Telegram, switching to what he called a “better” application, as he faces a suspension from the world’s biggest social media platform.
The oversight board of Meta Platforms, the parent of Facebook, on Thursday called for the suspension of the veteran strongman for six months, saying a video posted on his Facebook page had violated Meta’s rules against violent threats.
Human rights groups had accused Hun Sen of using Facebook to intimidate political opponents and discourage criticism of his government, which his administration denies.
The independent oversight board of Meta took up a case in March centred on allegations that Hun Sen violated community standards on violence and incitement.
Hun Sen has a following of 14 million on Facebook, a figure close to the size of Cambodia’s population. His new Telegram channel already has more than 850,000 followers, the Khmer Times quoted him as saying.
“It is better compared to Facebook,” he said of Telegram in a post on Wednesday.
“So from now on I will publish information including live streaming only on the Telegram channel.”
Hun Sen said he would still use Instagram, which is owned by Meta, as well as Google-owned YouTube. He is also creating a TikTok profile.
The Meta case came after several users reported a January video in which Hun Sen lashed out at those who accused his Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) of buying votes in a 2022 local election.
The video, broadcast on his official Facebook page in January this year, showed the prime minister threatening to beat up political rivals and send “gangsters” to their homes, according to the Meta board’s ruling.
'Newsworthiness' exemption
Meta determined at the time that the video fell foul of its rules, but opted to leave it up under a “newsworthiness” exemption, reasoning that the public had an interest in hearing warnings of violence by their government, the ruling said.
The oversight board, which is funded by Meta but operates independently, said the company erred in leaving up the video and ordered its removal from Facebook.
Meta, in a written statement, agreed to take down the video but said it would respond to the recommendation to suspend Hun Sen after a review.
Hun Sen has made no comment on the Meta case. Government spokesperson Phay Siphan on Thursday denied knowledge of the case and said the switch to Telegram was made because it was easier to use and could reach more people.
It comes as the country prepares for an election next month in which Hun Sen’s ruling CPP faces virtually no opposition, with its main rival dissolved in 2017 over an alleged coup attempt and scores of its members given jail terms or fleeing into exile.
A party formed by its remnants was last month disqualified from running over a paperwork discrepancy, prompting condemnation from activists, who say Hun Sen has systematically weakened independent institutions and has used them to crush his opponents and preserve the CPP’s political monopoly.
The CPP government has denied that and says its opponents have broken the law.