"After VOD Shutdown, Hostility Against Reporters", 21 February 2023

Following the government-ordered shutdown of VOD …, the outlet has been the subject of vulgar social media memes and its reporters continue to face personal attacks online and in government-aligned media.

Prime Minister Hun Sen has stated the VOD report which led him to revoke the outlet’s license … was “fake news” ...

Amidst the framing of VOD as fake news, Adhoc spokesperson Soeng Senkaruna said that there are few remaining media in Cambodia willing to report on negative issues. Freedom of press had been on the decline …

“Now we see that the situation has gone backwards, which is worrying,” he said. “We do not want to see images of restrictions on the press and civil society in a democratic society, and this event has made journalists fearful of fulfilling their role to serve society and the people.”

…, Hun Sen rebuked a group of more than 40 civil society organizations after they released a joint-statement last week condemning the sexual harassment of a female VOD reporter on social media…

… “These NGOs were established only to oppose the government and not to do anything to protect women’s equality,” Hun Sen said …

“If it is necessary to audit [the NGOs] to find out where the money came from, we have the right to do so …,” he added.

… Chim Channeang, secretary general of the Cambodian NGO Committee on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, signed the statement. She said the aims of the organizations signing the statement were not political…