USDP spokesperson Dr Nanda Hla Myint speaks with Frontier on July 24 at the party's headquarters in Nay Pyi Taw. (Thuya Zaw | Frontier) Coordinated behaviour: Inside the USDP’s well-paid army of social media monitors SEPTEMBER 22, 2020    The Tatmadaw-backed opposition party has hired a team of young, tech-savvy researchers to monitor what is said about the party online. By NAW BETTY HAN | FRONTIER At the sprawling Union Solidarity and Development Party headquarters in Nay Pyi Taw, a team of recent college graduates are hard at work, tracking comments and stories shared on Facebook about the military-backed opposition party. The youthful, tech-savvy team stands out in the massive compound, where the age of party members often exceeds the country’s average life expectancy. Despite their young age, the members of this team are poised to play a greater role in the USDP’s campaign than normal; while party leaders may decry the impact of COVID-19-targeted bans on gatherings, they are also likely the most vulnerable to a disease whose risk rises with age. Campaigns in this year’s election, to an even greater degree than already expected, will be waged online. But, from descriptions of their work that Frontier has heard, the spending may return little. What officials describe as “research” sounds a lot like cataloging negative comments about the party made on Facebook, and it is unclear how they plan to use this “research” in their campaign, short of responding individually to their detractors or filing dubious lawsuits. The 15-member team was actually created more than four years ago but for different purposes. USDP spokesperson U Nandar Hla Myint told Frontier he helped create it after joining the party’s Nay Pyi Taw office back in 2016, as the USDP was finishing its term as Myanmar’s first elected government