8 The International Journal of Press/Politics 00(0) our confidence that our findings are indeed representative of a broader group of people than those we were able to interview individually or as part of a focus group. Findings Participants reported using Facebook for a variety of reasons. Some said they use it to get ideas for their business (e.g., a photographer said he searched for images of “beautiful girls”) or leisure (a young man said he finds games on Facebook). Respondents also reported using the platform to catch up with friends and family, to look for community and religious events, and to share their activities. Although their reasons for using Facebook varied, most agreed that it made getting information easy. Consistent with survey data (International Republican Institute 2017), most of the people we interviewed said they use Facebook for political news, and an overwhelming majority said it was their primary source of news. Only a few people said they did not use Facebook to access news. Instead they reported watching TV or reading traditional domestic and local print papers (from privately owned sources such as Eleven Media, the Voice, Myanmar Times, and Frontier, as well as the Myanmar government publications). The use of Facebook as a primary way to access news was more pronounced in rural areas. On and Offline News Consumption Participants who use Facebook for news reported accessing various sources on the platform: They read the online version of popular print papers (Eleven Media, the Voice, Myanmar Times), international media (e.g., the BBC and VOA), former exile media (VOC, DVB, and RFA), as well as posts from private citizens, government officials, and non-governmental organizations. Yet, participants engaged selectively with online and offline sources. One rural woman who identified as a member of an ethnic and religious minority said she found newspapers and traditional news media to be more reliable than social media, “because they need to check information before they are printed. Otherwise, they can be sued for incorrect information.” A majority of participants, however, said they prefer Facebook to traditional news, because it offers information other media do not or cannot cover. They argued that Facebook gives voice to people in rural areas and offers information subject to censorship in other outlets. Thus, they use Facebook to circumvent censorship and consider its information authentic. As one man identifying as Bamar and Buddhist explained, “Newspapers from the government are heavily sanctioned. You don’t get information about conflicts in minority ethnic areas. [On Facebook] you also get information, voices, and opinions from real people.” One man of Muslim faith suggested that Facebook was one way the Rohingya were able to document the violence directed at them: I opened a Facebook account in 2010, and I became an active user in 2012. [ . . . ] I wanted to get more information about the [2012 Rohingya] crisis. At that time, what I remember is that emotions heightened in Muslim communities [ . . . ] and people posted photos on FB. [ . . . ] While such atrocities were happening, state media were silent and did not provide the right information.