Thai journalists deny fake news and suspend ties with Cambodian media
The Thai Journalists Association (TJA), the Society for Online News Providers (SONP), and the National Union of Journalists Thailand (NUJT) denied allegations of spreading fake news made by Cambodian media. The organisations also announced the suspension of their media partnership with Cambodia until border tensions subside.
The Club of Cambodian Journalists (CCJ) yesterday, July 31, issued a statement accusing Thai news agencies of disseminating false information about Cambodia, particularly concerning the ceasefire agreement. Two media outlets mentioned in the statement were KhaoSod and The Nation Thailand. A part of the statement read…
“The CCJ has closely monitored and noted that certain Thai media outlets, such as KhaoSod and The Nation Thailand, have been, and continue to be, disseminating false information.
Such reporting not only reflects a lack of journalistic professionalism, which undermines public trust in the media during this critical time, but also causes confusion and negatively affects the real situation along the border, as well as efforts made by both sides to seek a peaceful resolution with international support.”
In response, the TJA, SONP, and NUJT jointly issued a statement refuting the claims, which stated…
“The NUJT – comprising the TJA and the SONP – rejects the defamatory claims against Thai media and expresses strong dissatisfaction with the statement issued by the CCJ, which accused Thai journalists of lacking ethics in their reporting on the Thai-Cambodian border situation. This accusation is deemed an unacceptable insult.”
In addition to expressing dissatisfaction, the three organisations called for two specific actions from the CCJ:
- Cease interference in the internal affairs of Thai media and instead focus on strongly and independently upholding ethical standards in Cambodian journalism, free from manipulation and control.
- Take concrete action to address the problem of fake news and disinformation originating and spreading online from within Cambodia.
The Thai organisations emphasised in their statement that the Thai press operates under a robust system of ethical self-regulation, with a commitment to journalistic integrity and press freedom.
They also clarified that the objective of Thai news reporting is to promote genuine and lasting peace at the border, not to incite hatred between the people of the two countries.
The statement concluded with the announcement that cooperation between Thai and Cambodian media would be temporarily suspended, citing the CCJ’s actions as appearing more aligned with serving the interests of the Cambodian government rather than upholding the principles of an independent, professional journalistic body.
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