FREEDOM ON THE NET 2016 MYANMAR spirit of the military during the Kokang conflict in 2015. At the same time, journalists are becoming more cautious when reporting on the NLD government. Although the media was relieved from “government censorship” in 2012, they increasingly fear “public censorship” in the form of social media abuse, according to one of the country’s largest weeklies.32 In June 2015, one local reporter told The Irrawaddy she had changed her online behavior and “acted more cautiously when covering controversial subjects” from fear of online harassment.33 Social media and communication apps including Viber, Line, Friendfinder, and Google+ are freely available. Facebook is the most popular, since many users developed the habit of using the platform to share information, initiate collective action on social and political issues, or follow exile media outlets when website blocking was still pervasive. According to one estimate, there were about seven million Facebook users in October 2015, up from three million in January.34 For some users frustrated at the challenge of navigating between sites on poor connections, Facebook is the sole source of online news, potentially depriving local outlets of the advertising revenue. Facebook was also an effective instrument for urban politicians in the run-up to the November elections, though its impact is limited in rural areas. One-third of Myanmar’s 91 political parties have an active Facebook presence.35 Young, digitally-savvy candidates used Facebook to mobilize volunteers and communicate with voters, including Nay Phone Latt, the blogger and former political prisoner who directs the advocacy group Myanmar ICT for Development Organization (MIDO). During a purge inside the then-ruling USDP party in August, House Speaker Thura U Shwe Mann, who was removed from the party’s chairmanship, took to Facebook after several hours incommunicado, generating thousands of “likes.” Aung San Suu Kyi, whose official page has been “liked” by over 1.3 million people, received the most online support. Along with content from the campaign trail, the politician many call “The Lady” posted a video on how to cast a ballot.36 Some progovernment Facebook pages, such as Myanmar Express, and blogs like OppositEye, actively manipulate online commentary to conduct smear campaigns against Muslims or the political opposition. Ethnic Burman internet users also spread racially-charged comments across social media platforms throughout the coverage period.37 Mabatha, the radical group of Buddhist monks, intensified its anti-Muslim and anti-NLD campaigns in the run-up to the elections. Digital Activism Online activism increased during the coverage period thanks to the 2015 elections and humanitarian relief campaigns online. One of the most effective online campaigns urged people to verify their names in the electoral register in September, after the Union Election Commission announced irregularities in the existing voter lists. From July through September 2015, severe flooding hit 12 of the country’s 14 states resulting in over 100 deaths and affecting up to one million people. Local charity associations effectively used social 32 7 Day Daily, March 30, 2016, http://www.7daydaily.com/story/61577 . Sean Gleeson, “For Burma’s Journalists, a Bumpy Road to ‘Discipline-Flourishing Democracy’,” Irrawaddy, June 17, 2015, http://www.irrawaddy.com/burma/for-burmas-journalists-a-bumpy-road-to-discipline-flourishing-democracy.html . 33 34 Internet Journal, October 23, 2016, http://internetjournal.media/news/4582 . Catherine Trautwein, Wa Lone, “The Facebook election? Not quite yet,” Myanmar Times, October 7, 2015, http://www. mmtimes.com/index.php/business/technology/16877-the-facebook-election-not-quite-yet.html . 35 36 Catherine Trautwein, Wa Lone, “The Facebook election? Not quite yet.” 37 Sait Latt, “Intolerance, Islam and the Internet in Myanmar today,” New Mandala, June 10, 2012, http://bit.ly/1g6ktQr. www.freedomonthenet.org