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CICP and the Asia Foundation have partnered, via a grant from the Embassy of the United States of America in Phnom Penh, to develop CambodiaCheck – a new, online fact-checking platform focused on foreign affairs related issue. Building on the respective strengths of both organizations, this new entity will launch in June of this year.
Cambodia will find itself in the global geopolitical spotlight over the next two years, as host of the previously postponed Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in 2021 and as chair of ASEAN in 2022. As a relatively small state that continues to grapple with weaknesses in its media and academic sectors, it faces the challenge of countering misinformation across a wide spectrum of topics, ranging from economic development to foreign policy to its role in regional and subregional institutions. The general lack of awareness – across a diversity of actors – of the realities of contemporary Cambodia provides significant space for the spread of misinformation, creating additional impediments to the country’s development and the deepening of its regional integration. The final product will be a prototype, stand-alone CambodiaCheck digital platform and social media presence.