Cambodian PM Hun Sen’s Facebook page was hacked to give away seats in parliament
The 66-year-old leader eagerly embraced social media in the run-up to the election in a bid to win support from the youth in Cambodia
Hackers targeted the official Facebook page of Cambodia’s premier Hun Sen on Friday and falsely claimed he would cede several parliamentary seats, an official said, after the strongman swept last month’s election virtually uncontested.
The long-serving leader’s ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) is expected to take all 125 spots in parliament when official results are announced next week, cementing Cambodia’s status as a one-party state.
But on Friday, hackers broke into Hun Sen’s official Facebook page and said the CPP would give away four seats to other parties, a ruling party spokesman confirmed.
The perplexing message was up for about an hour and got some 3,300 “likes” before it was removed.
“The news was fake,” Sok Eysan said, confirming there are no plans to share seats with any other parties.
He said Hun Sen’s account was likely hacked by “opposition groups or traitors or outlawed rebels”.