More than 800 students in Kratie province are being trained to identify and combat fake news under the second phase of a nationwide campaign aimed at strengthening media literacy and promoting responsible social media use among young people.
The “Say No to Fake News” campaign was launched on Monday at Samdech Techo Hun Sen Kratie High School in Kratie city, with the students receiving training to become “information safety agents” capable of identifying misleading information, verifying sources and reporting online scams.
Tep Asnarith, Undersecretary of State and spokesman for the Ministry of Information, and Pang Nath, also an Undersecretary of State at the ministry, presided over the launch, attended by provincial information and education officials, local authorities and school representatives.
Asnarith, who also heads the secretariat of the working group responsible for organising the campaign, said the initiative aimed to transform young social media users from potential victims of fake news and harmful content into active participants in protecting the digital environment.
“Equipping students with these skills is an important strategic step in transforming social media users from victims of fake news and toxic content into active information safety agents who can independently verify information and help protect the digital environment responsibly,” he said.
He said the campaign went beyond providing basic knowledge about identifying fake news, seeking instead to promote responsible social media behaviour and strengthen information safety across society.
Through education and awareness-raising, students and young people would be better equipped to avoid misleading information, disinformation and technology-based scams, he added.
“The core and heart of this national campaign, led by the Ministry of Information, is to strengthen information and media literacy among young people across the country. Instead of becoming victims, young people should be able to check, verify and analyse information sources without hastily believing or sharing information that has no clear source,” he said.
He encouraged young people to share their knowledge with friends, families and their communities, while reporting inappropriate content, fake accounts and online scams to help protect others.
The second phase of the campaign is being implemented by the Kratie Provincial Department of Information, with support from provincial and Kratie city authorities.
