Cambodia will host the ASEAN Multistakeholder Symposium on Mitigating Disinformation and Managing Synthetic Media in the Digital Era on November 4–5 in Phnom Penh, bringing together regional and international stakeholders to address emerging digital risks.

The two-day event is co-organised by the Ministry of Information, the German Federal Foreign Office through Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and the Swiss Embassy to Indonesia, Timor-Leste and ASEAN.

Information Minister Neth Pheaktra, German Ambassador Silke Röfer and Head of the Swiss Cooperation Office Reto Grüninger will lead the opening. ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn will deliver pre-recorded remarks.

Delegates include representatives from the ASEAN Senior Officials Responsible for Information, the ASEAN Task Force on Fake News, government bodies, academic institutions, think tanks, civil society groups and major technology platforms. Experts from ASEAN member states, Germany, Switzerland and the European Union will also participate.

The symposium aims to establish practical approaches to counter fake news, foster cooperation between regional policymakers and tech firms and identify gaps in information management to support evidence-based research.

Discussions will cover digital information governance, media literacy and joint strategies to mitigate risks posed by misinformation, disinformation and AI-generated synthetic media. The gathering will also support research publications and a podcast series to raise public awareness.

Building on Cambodia’s nationwide “Say No to Fake News” initiative, the event seeks to enhance regional information security while balancing anti-disinformation measures with freedom of expression. AKP