With these reforms also came the rapid growth of social media, and in particular Facebook. In 2012, only one percent of the population used the internet; with the deregulation of the telecommunications sector in 2013, the number of Facebook users jumped to over seven million in 2015 and 18 million by 2018. Its rapid spread was hastened by its free provision by mobile service providers and went viral because of its unique ability to offer all services in one package (messages, news, videos, and entertainment) (Reuters, 2018). As the primary method by which users connect, Facebook in Myanmar has an unusual position of serving as the internet, 1 giving it a uniquely dominant position within Myanmar’s internet and social media landscape. With an estimated 20 million users at the time of writing, Facebook’s rapid growth has made it incredibly influential within a short time (Freedom House, 2018; Lwin and Brown, 2019). A group of technology experts, analysts, and activists were quick to detect that certain groups began using Facebook to spread disinformation and hate speech as early as 2013 and warned Facebook. In the wake of conflicts between Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State in 2012, hate speech against Rohingya appeared on Facebook, threatening violence against Rohingya and other Muslims. Other posts attacked aid workers in Rakhine State who were providing assistance to displaced Rohingya, calling them “traitors to the nation” (Reuters, 2018). Another early incident of social media being employed to incite hatred against minorities was July 2014 violence in Mandalay, in which a false news report that two Muslim teashop owners had raped a Buddhist women was widely shared on Facebook. This included a post by firebrand monk Wirathu that “[the] Mafia flame [of the Muslims] is spreading… all Burmans must be ready.” The day after this post, violence in Mandalay led to two deaths, many injuries, and widespread property damage. Eventually the government blocked access to Facebook in Mandalay, in recognition of the incendiary role it played in the conflict (Callahan, 2019). In the 2015 elections, social media-based attacks (and offline attacks as well) on ethnic and religious minorities led to politicians distancing themselves from positions that could cause 2 them to be perceived as sympathetic to those minorities, especially religious minorities. Aung 1 Viber is also widely used, with a population penetration rate of 35, followed by Facebook with 27 percent penetration rate. Of social media platforms, Facebook is by far the biggest source of news and information. 2 Callahan, ​Myanmar’s 2020 Elections. 6