A Call for the Club of Cambodian Journalists (CCJ) to Genuinely Scrutinize its National Media’s Conduct and to Address the Problems of Fake News and Disinformation
The three Thai media professional organizations, comprising the Thai Journalists Association (TJA), the Society for Online News Providers (SONP) and the National Union of Journalists Thailand (NUJT), wish to reject the defamatory information targeting the Thai media and express our profound dissatisfaction with the statement issued by the (CCJ), which accuses the Thai media of lacking professional ethics in its reporting on the Thai-Cambodian border situation.
We consider this an unacceptable affront.
We hereby issue the following demands:
We demand that the CCJ cease its interference in the internal affairs of the media in Thailand and fulfill its duty to rigorously examine the ethical conduct of the Cambodian media, free from any control or dominance.
We demand that the CCJ commit to taking tangible measures to address the problem of fake news and disinformation originating and spreading online from Cambodia.
Numerous instances of such disinformation have been detected, including:
- Allegations that Thai F-16 fighter jets dropped chemical agents into Cambodia.
- Accusations that Thailand used F-16s to drop high-yield MK bombs on the homes of Cambodian civilians.
- The false report of the death of Lt Gen Boonsin Padklang, Commander of the 2nd Army Region.
- As well as numerous other pieces of distorted information, all of which have created significant misunderstanding.
The three Thai media professional organizations affirm that the Thai media operates under a robust system of ethical self-regulation.
We are fully committed to respect the rights and freedoms of the public and the press.
We reaffirm our dedication to reporting based on the principles of ethics, impartiality, and comprehensive accuracy, without inciting hatred between the peoples of our two nations, and with a genuine desire for true and lasting peace in the border region.
As the aforementioned actions of the CCJ verge on acting as a mouthpiece for the Cambodian government rather than functioning as an independent professional organization, the TJA, which has a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the CCJ on a wide range of media cooperation finds it necessary to temporarily suspend its relations with the CCJ until the situation returns to normal.
Thai Journalists Association – TJA
Society for Online News Providers – SONP
National Union of Journalists Thailand – NUJT
July 31, 2025
