AKP Phnom Penh, May 28, 2026 -- H.E. Tep Asnarith, Undersecretary of State and Spokesperson for the Ministry of Information, has emphasised that strengthening media literacy and educating young people to identify fake news are essential measures to protect them and society from dangers in the digital age.

Speaking during a virtual meeting via Zoom with leaders of the 25 municipal and provincial Departments of Information on May 27, H.E. Tep Asnarith compared media literacy education to “vaccination against danger,” stressing the need to equip youth with the ability to resist misinformation.

The meeting was held to prepare for the implementation of the second phase of the “Say No to Fake News” campaign.

According to the spokesperson, fake news acts like a harmful virus that aims to poison the social environment, create confusion, distort facts, and damage the reputation and dignity of individuals or institutions.

He noted that young people, who are among the most active social media users, are particularly vulnerable to misinformation and can unintentionally contribute to its spread if they lack sufficient awareness and resilience.

H.E. Tep Asnarith said that among Cambodia’s population of around 17 million, approximately 59 percent of Facebook users are young people, while more than 30 percent of Generation Z users aged between 14 and 29 prefer TikTok.

He therefore urged state media networks and provincial information departments to increase the production of educational and entertainment content aimed at improving media and information literacy.

The spokesperson also encouraged cooperation with journalists, experienced youth content creators, and MMO groups to expand public awareness campaigns on social media platforms and help people better understand how to protect themselves from fake news designed to create social unrest.

At the same time, he instructed all municipal and provincial Departments of Information to work closely with the Departments of Education, Youth and Sport to effectively implement the second phase of the campaign, particularly targeting secondary and high school students.

The second phase of the anti-fake news campaign, themed “Strengthening Media and Information Literacy for Information Safety,” was officially launched on May 18, 2026 at Hun Sen Bun Rany Wat Phnom High School in Phnom Penh under the presidency of Information Minister H.E. Neth Pheaktra.

By C. Nika