ISSUES SIGN UP NOW A TikTok video claims that someone standing behind Ma Kyal Sin at a Mandalay protest on March 3 was coordinating with third-party snipers to have her killed Disinformation campaign tries – and fails – to shift blame for protester deaths MARCH 7, 2021    As condemnation grows over the Tatmadaw’s killing of peaceful protesters, state media and pro-military social media accounts are alleging that third parties are responsible. By FRONTIER As Myanmar’s military faces near-global condemnation for its killing dozens of unarmed protesters, including teenagers, it has turned to a familiar tactic: disinformation. In recent days, pro-military social media accounts and state news outlets have claimed that security forces are not killing protesters – rather, that some third party is responsible. Social media posts proliferated on Thursday, the day before the junta published similar claims in state-run newspapers including the English-language Global New Light of Myanmar and Burmese-language Myanmar Alin, as well as military-owned Myawaddy. The junta published two articles on Friday in Global New Light of Myanmar in its attempt to shift responsibility for the deaths. One said the deaths “are not associated with the security forces, and there might be some unscrupulous persons behind these cases”. Another specifically disavowed responsibility for the death of 19-year-old Ma Kyal Sin, who eyewitnesses said was shot in the head by security forces during a protest in Mandalay on Wednesday. The article said the junta was “investigating the cause of her death” but also exonerated security forces, citing unnamed “experts”. “Experts have analysed that it was not an injury caused by a riot