B. Key Digital Rights Situations in 2025 As information warfare has become part of the border tensions, state actors are now key players in spreading disinformation and propaganda, with Hun Sen at the helm of this effort. Several government agencies, including the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Information, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Interior, also play crucial roles. The core message Cambodia seeks to promote is that the country is a victim of the border conflict. Pro-government media outlets, including the Khmer Times, Phnom Penh Post, and Fresh News, function as government mouthpieces, spreading disinformation and propaganda that benefit the ruling regime. Part of the strategy to control information is the arrest of individuals whom the regime considers a threat for sharing information that contradicts pro-government narratives. Many individuals have been arrested for documenting events or commenting on the situation on social media. According to the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO), at least 16 journalists and social media users had been arrested in relation to the border conflict as of its report published on October 31, 2025102. Many of those arrested are also members or supporters of the political opposition, including Keo Heang from the National Power Party, Khun Thorngdy from the Move Forward Party, Khou Hang Meang, a supporter of the now-defunct Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), and Chan Cheat, an activist associated with the opposition Khmer Will Party103. Among the journalists arrested were Porn Sopheap and Pheap Pheara from TSP 68 TV Online. They were detained after a reporting trip to Oddar Meanchey, near the Thai border, in July 2025 and charged with “supplying a foreign state with information prejudicial to national defense” under Article 445 of the Criminal Code. While the exact reason for their arrest remains unclear, Porn Sopheap and Pheap Pheara were the two journalists who took photos with Cambodian soldiers at the Prasat Ta Kwai or Ta Krabei temple, one of the temple ruins at the center of the border conflict. The photos were widely circulated in Thai media because they show unplaced landmines in the background104. “Crackdown on Online Speech, Journalism During Thai-Cambodia Border Conflict.” LICADHO, 31 Oct. 2025, www.licadho-cambodia.org/articles/20251031/203/index.html. 103. “Flash Info: Two Opposition Activists Hit With Incitement, Forgery Charges.” LICADHO, 9 Sep. 2025, www. licadho-cambodia.org/flashnews.php?perm=463. 104. “2 Cambodian Journalists Arrested for Treason Over PMN2 Landmine Photo.” The Nation, 9 Sep. 2025, www.nationthailand.com/news/asean/40055203. 102. 28