Video of Trump issuing sanctions against ICC falsely linked to Thailand-Cambodia border dispute

The video, showing Trump signing a document in the Oval Office while surrounded by officials and photographers, was posted on TikTok on June 8, 2025.

Superimposed Thai-language text on the video reads: "Cambodia started this. Big Daddy Trump has already sanctioned the world court. Thailand, what will you do about Preah Vihear?"

The ICJ, known as the World Court, settles legal disputes between countries (archived link).

Land near Preah Vihear, a 900-year-old temple on the Thai‑Cambodian border, was the site of sporadic violence between the two countries before the ICJ ruled in 2013 that the area belonged to Cambodia (archived link).

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Screenshot of the false Facebook post, captured on June 10, 2025

The post circulated after a Cambodian soldier was killed in the most recent outbreak of clashes on May 28 in an area known as the Emerald Triangle, where the borders of Cambodia, Thailand and Laos meet (archived link).

Cambodia said it would file a complaint with the ICJ over the border dispute, with Thailand countering by saying it does not recognise the court's jurisdiction on this matter and prefers resolving the issue through existing bilateral channels (archived here and here).

Both sides agreed on June 8 to ease tensions by repositioning troops in the area (archived link).

Similar posts claiming Trump sanctioned the World Court were shared elsewhere on TikTok and Facebook.

But the US president has not sanctioned the ICJ on Thailand's behalf or otherwise.

International Criminal Court sanctions

The falsely shared video appears to be a report by broadcaster Thai PBS, and the news anchor can be heard saying: "US President Donald Trump signed another executive order to sanction the International Criminal Court, or ICC..."

A subsequent keyword search on Thai PBS's social media platforms led to the same footage posted on the broadcaster's YouTube channel on February 7 (archived link).

The clip used in the false post can be seen at the YouTube video's 48:18 mark.

The footage shows Trump imposing sanctions on the ICC -- which prosecutes individuals for war crimes and crimes against humanity -- for probes targeting the United States and its ally Israel (archived here and here).

Trump's order said the tribunal had engaged in "illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel," referring to investigations into alleged war crimes by US service members in Afghanistan and Israeli troops in Gaza.

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Screenshot comparison of the falsely shared video (left) and the Thai PBS YouTube video (right)

As of June 11, there have been no official reports of Trump commenting on the border dispute between Cambodia and Thailand.