The National Counter-Terrorism Committee, charged with a host of key national security issues, yesterday released a statement defending the veracity of Prime Minister Hun Sen’s Facebook “likes”.

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy has accused Hun Sen of buying fake likes after the Post reported that the majority of the premier’s new fans had originated abroad – according to the analytics site socialbakers.com – with more than 250,000 coming from India, where likes can be purchased from so-called “click farms”.

Counter-terrorism officials, however, took issue with the accusations, saying that its own investigation – purportedly using the same analytics – had confirmed the authenticity of the likes, and that the premier had “more than Rainsy”.

“The numbers are real supporters from Cambodia and other real supporters overseas, and [are based on] a good relationship with people, not spending money to buy ‘likes’,” the statement says.

“The data claimed by Rainsy is not real, but a political message to cheat people who don’t understand.”