Chan Thul Prak, a prominent Cambodian journalist and editor at KiriPost, a Cambodian media outlet, sent Khaosod English’s Pravit Rojanaphruk a few questions regarding fake news during the current Thai-Cambodia conflicts and more.
Here’s the Q&A:
Chan Thul Prak: What do you see as the most significant dangers of such widespread disinformation and fake news, both in the immediate context of the conflict and for the long-term relationship between Thailand and Cambodia?
Pravit: People, both in Thailand and Cambodia, will lack an accurate and realistic understanding of the Thai-Cambodia conflict if their understanding is based on numerous fake news. They will also likely hold unrealistic expectations and tend to unnecessarily demonise the other, as fake news tends to exaggerate the negative side of the orher.
Fake news is basically detrimental to Thai-Cambodia relations.
Chan Thul Prak: Beyond the immediate political or military implications, how might this “information war” affect people-to-people trust and understanding between the two nations?
Pravit: It basically corrodes trust between Thais and Cambodians. People-to-people trust is a major casualty of fake news, and many on both sides of the border will likely harbour mistrust if not hatred.
Chan Thul Prak: In your opinion, did the spread of disinformation contribute to, or perhaps even escalate, the actual hostilities on the ground?
Pravit: Absolutely. Fake news feeds the insatiable desire for ultra-nationalism. It creates greater expectations to punish and vilify the other, be it Thailand or Cambodia, and their people.
Chan Thul Prak: What role do you believe responsible journalism plays in countering disinformation during times of conflict, and what challenges did Thai journalists face in this regard?
Pravit: As much as possible, responsible journalists should not knowingly spread fake news. They should fact-check. Claims made by their own respective governments that seem suspicious or not credible should also be accompanied with a caveat saying that “we cannot be independently verified it as of press time.”
Thai journalists, and I assume their Cambodian counterparts are similar, are susceptible to ultra-nationalist ideology. Many perceive themselves to be on the same side as the Thai government, if not the Thai state and the military.
This means these media and journalists abdicate their indispensable check-and-balance role and become cheerleaders for the ongoing conflict between Thailand and Cambodia. This makes them even more susceptible to spreading fake news and wanting “the other side” or “the enemy” to appear evil and losing.
As the five-day undeclared war broke out, I wrote that Thais, and not just Thai journalists, should not simply and automatically believe the Thai government and/or the Thai state and military simply because they are Thai, because manipulating perception is an ugly and unacknowledged part of war, which includes information warfare and disinformation.
The press and people should not become pawns of our respective governments and suffer the consequences. I would like to convey the same message to my Cambodian colleagues and neighbours as well.
Chan Thul Prak: Looking ahead, what solutions do you envision for healing the distrust and animosity that has been fuelled by disinformation and for fostering a more accurate understanding between the people of Thailand and Cambodia?
Pravit: There is no panacea or silver bullet. Every sensible Cambodian and Thai should quickly recognise that we share 800 kilometres of a common border, that we cannot run away from one another, and it is counter-productive for both Thailand and Cambodia and their people to be each other’s enemy.
Sensible public figures, social media influencers, and journalists should point out that fake news, hate speech, and dehumanising speech and photos will only deepen the people-to-people conflict and make it harder to heal and normalise the ties.
Look at how bitter and traumatic things were during the Second World War, between France and Nazi Germany, and how they are good neighbours now, or Japan’s colonial adventure in Korea and Japan’s invasion of China, including the Rape of Nanking Incident, and how they do not have to wage war now and enjoy relatively normal relations.
In Korea, there is a disputed island called Dokdo Island, which is a group of islets in the Sea of Japan (also known as the East Sea), and is called Takeshima island in Japan. The dispute is far from resolved, yet both Korea and Japan did not wage war, spread fake news, or dehumanise one another on social media; instead, they have relatively normal diplomatic and trade relations.
Thailand and Cambodia are fighting for four tiny patches of land and a few small temple ruins. The price both nations are paying makes zero sense. It is a senseless war and I suspect it has more to do with the ruling political families in both nations, while ordinary people on both sides, particularly those along the border, are paying a heavy price, along with foot soldiers.
The sooner we Thais and Cambodians recognise this, and are not used as pawns to further fan ultra-nationalism, and instead demand realistic and sensible policies from our governments, the better chance we have to mend the broken ties between not just our two nations but our two peoples. We have to look beyond the next few months and ask ourselves what we would like to see three or five years from now.
Also, history school textbooks on should be re-examined to ensure they do not unnecessarily and unfairly vilify its neighbours.
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