This reveals that the media have continued to operate despite military attempts to restrict their operations. While the military sought to create an information gap by arresting journalists and raiding newsrooms, the media filled that space with more publications than ever before.3 2.2. The rise of the independent media The growth in the number of media posts has been driven almost entirely by independent outlets, despite them being the primary focus of military censorship. Independent media increased their output by +29% from 12 thousand to 16 thousand posts per month. This includes both older independent outlets and new ones established post-coup, such as People’s Spring. This represents a significant shift in how the public’s right to information is fulfilled in Myanmar. Most of the independent media’s operations are now conducted from exile, demonstrating the principle of “imparting information regardless of frontiers” as protected by the ICCPR. These media operate a cross-border information flow, using digital tools to bypass the military’s physical border controls. Their work ensures that the military cannot use geography to hide its violations of international law. Top 10 media by post volume4 Before the coup (Jan 2021) Change 2025-6 election period 1 DVB DVB 2 Eleven 3 One News Myanmar One News Myanmar 4 Standard Times Mizzima (Burmese) 5 Mizzima (Burmese) Popular News Journal 6 Voice of Myanmar Irrawaddy (Burmese) 7 Irrawaddy (Burmese) 8 RFA (Burmese) 9 MRTV-4 Khit Thit Media 10 BBC (Burmese) STUN Magazine People’s Spring Myanmar Press Photo Agency Eleven Key: International media, Independent media Military-aligned media State-owned media . 3 The dataset is primarily a quantitative measure of media production, which indicates whether the media remains in operation, and to what extent. Qualitative analysis can be conducted on the dataset, but the results would not be as reliable as an expert review of the content. 4 Figures adjusted to account for content that was repeatedly published. Page 7 of 24