One journalist explained: “We are guests here, and if we report the truth about local police or host government wrongs, we risk being deported back to the military.” This prevents them from reporting on the suffering of their own communities. One participant said, “We want to report on the suffering of Myanmar migrants, including our own, but we cannot.” The media have occasionally been forced to retract stories, too. One senior journalist stated: “We had to retract a story due to pressure from the local authorities in our host country.” “If we report the truth about local police or host government wrongs, we risk being deported back to the military” 3.4. Pervasive attacks online Attacks against the media are common online. 91% of media reported digital attacks during the election countdown. 47% described these attacks as “very frequent”. • Violent Threats: 18% of media outlets received death threats, and 28% received threats of physical injury. One editor was told, “I will kill you if you come back. We know where you live, and I’m going to do something.” • Legal and Professional Harassment: 13% of media outlets reported repeated threats of arrest. An editor said, “We always get threatened with a visit from the police.” 31% faced frequent demeaning language. The rhetoric is carefully calibrated to polarise: “We get asked ‘how many US dollars are you paid for publishing this?’” one editor noted. Another said: “We are consistently called liars and accused of spreading disinformation.” 10% reported being labelled as “traitors” (10%). A journalist stated: “The military call us ‘subversive media’ and the revolutionary forces call us ‘Dalan’ (informant) media.” • Personal and Gendered Attacks: 55% of attacks on media outlets are deeply personal in nature. 13% experienced doxing, and 8% faced discriminatory language regarding ethnicity or religion. One editor noted: “We have families back inside Myanmar, so we can’t show our faces because we know we’ll put them at risk of attacks from the military.” 3.5. Attacks increased during elections The polls acted as a catalyst for attacks online. 69% of the media stated that threats worsened during the elections. One editor noted: “Attacks against us became more Page 11 of 19