feature, users can locate a variety of perspectives with few formal constraints and follow the discourse from all parties, including experts, NGOs, activists, journalists and the general public. A key difference highlighted by observers is the role played by Twitter in uniting Burmese netizens with the global community. As the Burmese academic highlighted, on Facebook, netizens were connected largely with other Myanmar citizens. Particularly for those belonging to the lower socio-economic groups, this had resulted in echo chambers and perpetuation of the social media filter bubble effect. Its corrosive impacts were clearly witnessed in the Rohingya crisis. On the other hand, the migration to Twitter allowed for exposure to global communities and diverse perspectives, including ideas of equality and human rights, and an understanding of the Rohingya issue from a new lens. Especially for the youth, this was an eye-opening and transformative experience, triggering feelings of remorse, unity and solidarity on a scale not witnessed before. Source: Twitter This new sense of solidarity reinvigorated the CDM and has given greater impetus to resistance efforts on the ground, both in cities as well as to armed protests in the country’s far-flung corners. A prominent example is the protests on 13 June 2021, where thousands of anti-junta protesters posted pictures of themselves wearing black under the #Black4Rohingya campaign. 25 This is a far cry from previous years, where the majority Buddhist, ethnic Bamar population showed little to no concern or outright hostility to the plight of the Rohingyas. Limitations of Social Media One of the challenges that limits the role of social media vis-a-vis protest movements is the nature and deficiencies of the platforms themselves. For instance, though social media 25 “Myanmar protesters show support for Rohingya with viral social media campaign”, South China Morning Post, 13 June, 2021, https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3137162/myanmarprotesters-show-support-rohingya-viral-social?module=perpetual_scroll&pgtype=article&campaign= 3137162. 7