Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has stopped using Facebook to communicate with the public in favor of Telegram, switching to what he called a “better” application amid an ongoing case over whether he violated Meta Platforms’ rules.
The self-styled strongman, who has led Cambodia for nearly four decades, has been accused by human rights groups of using Meta’s Facebook to intimidate political opponents and discourage criticism of his government, which his administration denies.
Meta’s independent oversight board took on a case in March centered on allegations that Hun Sen violated Meta’s community standards on violence and incitement.
Hun Sen has a following of 14 million on Facebook, a figure close to the size of Cambodia’s population.
“It is better compared to Facebook,” he said of Telegram in a post on Wednesday.
“So from now on I will publish information including live streaming only on Telegram channel,” he said, adding that he would still use YouTube and Instagram and was creating a TikTok profile.
The Meta case came after several users reported a January video where Hun Sen said those who accused his Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) of buying votes in a 2022 local election should file a legal case, or face a beating from CPP’s supporters.
Hun Sen has made no comment on the Meta case. Government spokesperson Phay Siphan on Thursday denied knowledge of the case and said the switch to Telegram was made because it was easier to use and could reach more people.
It comes as the country prepares for an election next month in which Hun Sen’s ruling CPP faces virtually no opposition, with its main rival dissolved in 2017 over an alleged coup attempt and scores of its members given jail terms or fleeing into exile.
A party formed by its remnants was last month disqualified from running over a paperwork discrepancy, prompting condemnation from activists, who say Hun Sen has systematically weakened independent institutions and has used them to crush his opponents and preserve CPP’s political monopoly.
The CPP government has denied that and says its opponents have broken the law.
Cambodia PM ditches Facebook as Meta mulls case over alleged threats
https://arab.news/csgcr
Cambodia PM ditches Facebook as Meta mulls case over alleged threats
- Self-styled strongman of using Meta’s Facebook to intimidate political opponents and discourage criticism of his government
- Hun Sen has a following of 14 million on Facebook, a figure close to the size of Cambodia’s population
Eurovision Sport, Camb.ai to provide live subtitling for Paralympic Winter Games
- Partnership aims to increase accessibility for all audiences
- Milano Cortina Games run from Friday to March 15
LONDON: Eurovision Sport, the European Broadcasting Union’s free-to-air streaming platform, will provide live and on-demand subtitling for coverage of the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games in partnership with AI language company Camb.ai
The service will run across all competition days, allowing viewers to stream all six Paralympic Winter Games sports on Eurovision Sport with real-time subtitles. The Games open on Friday and run through March 15.
Camb.ai will supply contextual speech-to-text transcription for both live and catch-up coverage, which the organizers said would support accessibility without altering the editorial integrity of broadcasts.
Eurovision Sport Managing Director Alan Fagan said the aim was to make the Games available to “the widest possible audience,” by scaling up digital accessibility across every event on the platform.
The initiative forms part of the EBU’s most extensive digital coverage of a Paralympic Winter Games to date and complements member broadcasters’ linear output.
It also reflects a wider industry push to make live sport easier to follow for viewers watching without sound, people with hearing impairments and audiences consuming content on demand.
Camb.ai’s Chief Technology Officer Akshat Prakash said the company was proud to deepen its partnership with Eurovision Sport, describing the platform as a leader in applying new technology to sports coverage.
The two organizations began working together in 2024, when they delivered what they described as Europe’s first AI-powered real-time translated sports commentary during European Athletics events.
