DEMOCRACY DISCONNECTED: SOCIAL MEDIA’S CAUSTIC INFLUENCE ON SOUTHEAST ASIA’S FRAGILE REPUBLICS to sow support for the regime while drowning out the voices of their critics. A couple of prominent, democratically-elected strongman leaders in Southeast Asia have similarly begun to use social media as a means of bolstering their support and squelching dissent. Cambodia serves as a particularly conspicuous case study as Prime Minister Hun Sen has become increasingly reliant on Facebook as a means to propagandize his ruling Cambodian People’s Party. Hun Sen’s embrace of the platform most likely was seen as a political imperative following the stunning performance of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party in the 2013 general election.66 The youthful demographics in Cambodia, where two-thirds of the population is under the age of 30, has made it necessary to find ways to appeal to younger voters.67 It is an especially tall order for a 65-year-old who has ruled with an iron fist for more than three decades to cultivate a softer image to make inroads with today’s youth. Nevertheless, Hun Sen has sought to diminish his authoritarian image online by frequently posting selfies and messages about his family.68 Rather than shutting down access to Facebook as some in civil society once feared, Hun Sen has actually invited Cambodians to express their concerns on his Facebook page.69 However, Hun Sen’s use of social media to build his support has been much more duplicitous. Today, Hun Sen’s Facebook page indicates that he has more than 10 million “likes” and followers.70 Interestingly, a report by the public relations firm Burston-Marsteller indicates that he was the eighth most followed world leader on Facebook in 2017 and recorded the second most interactions of any sitting leader the year prior.71 But all is not as it seems. In March 2016, the then-head of the CNRP, Sam Rainsy, in a Facebook post, accused Hun Sen of buying “likes,” an allegation that ultimately resulted in his conviction on a charge of defamation.72 Rainsy had cited a story in the Phnom Penh Post at the time, which stated that more than half of the “likes” recorded on Hun Sen’s page in the preceding month had actually originated from abroad, suggesting that offshore “click farms” had been employed to make him appear more popular with the grassroots, in what has become an increasingly common ploy online referred to as “astroturfing.”73 More disturbing than this manipulation of Facebook to fake support, however, has been Hun Sen’s use of the platform to fake news. Hun Sen and other ruling CPP officials maintain a close relationship with Lim Cheavutha, the founder and CEO of the online media outlet Fresh News. The company, which largely relies on Facebook to disseminate its stories, has posted a number of dubious pieces to the web that have vilified opposition figures and dissidents without providing any named 66 Will Brehm, “Cambodia’s Social Media Warnings for Trump’s America,” East Asia Forum, January 19, 2017, http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2017/01/19/cambodias-social-media-warnings-for-trumps-america/. 67 Julia Wallace, “As Demographics in Cambodia Shift, Youth Seek Political Change,” The New York Times, February 17, 2016, https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/18/world/asia/cambodia-hun-sen-sam-rainsy.html. 68 Mong Palatino, “Behind Cambodia’s Social Media War,” The Diplomat, March 17, 2016, https://thediplomat. com/2016/03/behind-cambodias-social-media-war/. 69 Gwen Robinson et al., “Social Media Revolution is Tough to ‘Like’”; Colin Meyn, “Virtual Democracy.” 70 “Samdech Hun Sen, Cambodian Prime Minister,” Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/hunsencambodia/. 71 “World Leaders on Facebook 2017,” Burson-Marsteller, https://www.burson-marsteller.com/what-we-do/ourthinking/world-leaders-on-facebook-2017/world-leaders-on-facebook-2017-full-study/. 72 Niem Chheng, “Judge Rejects Rainsy’s Claim that Hun Sen Bought Facebook ‘Likes,’” The Phnom Penh Post, November 9, 2016, https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/judge-rejects-rainsys-claim-hun-sen-boughtfacebook-likes. 73 Daniel Nass and Shaun Turton, “Only 20 Percent of PM’s Recent Facebook ‘Likes’ from Cambodia,” The Phnom Penh Post, March 9, 2016, https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/only-20-cent-pms-recent-facebook-likescambodia. Foreign Policy at Brookings | 15