Cambodian PM’s Facebook page sees spike in ‘Likes’ after murder of government critic

Manekseka Sangkum: If Pol Pot ever had a Facebook page, imagine the amount of "Likes" he would have generated! [Not to mention Uncle Ho, Adolf Hitler, Mao et al...]

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Cambodian PM’s Facebook page sees spike in ‘Likes’ after murder of government critic

By Asian Correspondent Staff | 6th August 2016 | 

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen. Pic: AP

IN the days following the murder of Cambodian political analyst and prominent government critic Kem Lay, the Facebook page of Prime Minister Hun Sen saw an interesting increase in ‘Likes’.

According to data from social media analytics website Socialbakers, the boost came from three Asian countries in particular: Indonesia, India, and the Philippines, reported the Cambodia Daily.

The countries are also well-known for the prevalence of “click farms”, which basically allow Facebook users to purchase ‘Likes’, or followers.

  

Based on the data, Hun Sen’s page experienced 9 to 31 percent growth in these countries between July 13 and July 31, compared to just 3 percent growth in Cambodia during the same period.

The upsurge came two days after Kem Lay was gunned down at a petrol station in Phnom Penh, allegedly over a money dispute.

However, some suspect that the shooting may have been an elaborate political assassination.

Oeut Ang, the suspect who was arrested shortly after shooting Kem Lay and fleeing the scene, reportedly told police during an interrogation that Kem Ley owed him US$3,000.

Kem Lay’s widow, Bor Rachana, denied he had been in debt with anyone.

Hun Sen is an avid user of the social media platform, and the number of followers his Facebook page has garnered is a point of pride for him. Previously, Hun Sen has denied claims of buying ‘Likes’.

Recently, Hun Sen even remarked that he had more followers than opposition leader Sam Rainsy.

“There are more than 15 million post likes for me. And how much do you actually have?” asked Hun Sen of Rainsy.

Currently, Hun Sen has 4.9 million followers to Rainsy’s 2.9 million followers.

According to the Cambodia Daily, websites such as India-based Social King, enable anyone to “Get Attraction, Get Business, Get Fame” by purchasing anywhere from 500 to 1 million Facebook followers at rates starting from US$11.99, claiming to provide “100% high quality real Facebook users”.

Government spokesmen have claimed to not have any knowledge of where all the ‘Likes’ are coming from, or why.