2 Hate Speech Ignited: Understanding Hate Speech in Myanmar in the country. The report also catalogs a number of key drivers of hate speech, including the role of ultranationalist groups, the political and business interests of the elite, and socio-economic factors such as poverty, education, and historical divisions; these key drivers help explain the root causes of hate speech as well as how systemic and entrenched narratives of hate and discriminatory structures remain. The report also tracks how online and offline channels have been used to spread hate speech. The report also highlights the wide-ranging and problematic effects of hate speech, from the distrust, psychological trauma, and violence it has spawned to the targeting of civil society and attacks on freedom of expression, which are so critical to combatting hate speech. The report demonstrates how hate speech and discrimination affects all ethnic and religious minorities in Myanmar, while also highlighting the particularly acute impact on the Rohingya and Muslims, who have become a rallying point for ultranationalists and have been subjected to especially violent targeting as seen in the Rohingya crisis and its aftermath. Finally, the report evaluates whether Myanmar has met human rights standards with regards to hate speech, concluding that the country has failed to do so. Much of this report’s findings stems from the analytical insights and experiences with hate speech of 22 Myanmar civil society organizations (“CSOs”), including Burma Monitor (Research and Monitoring) and Progressive Voice. The International Human Rights Clinic at Harvard Law School (“the Clinic”) helped capture the local groups’ knowledge, experience, and expertise over the course of a year through interviews and two multi-day convenings held in January and December 2019. More than 35 individuals from CSOs and the Clinic met to discuss hate speech in Myanmar in detail. Many of the CSOs have been or are at risk of being targeted by ultranationalist groups as a result of their work and/or their identity as ethnic and religious minorities. Despite the risks, local groups felt the need to share their experiences and insights on the histo- ry of hate speech in Myanmar, current key narratives of hate, the drivers of that they have observed, and effects they have experienced themselves and in their communities. Indeed, as human rights defenders (“HRDs”), activists, and civil society organizations working to address grave human rights concerns in Myanmar, they have been at the frontlines in efforts to combat hate and its effects. Narratives of Hate The report identifies six constructed hate speech narratives, all of which have been interlinked and reinforce an overarching meta-narrative of Buddhist-Burman dominance: 1. Both ethnic minority groups and non-Buddhists threaten race, religion, and country; 2. Islam in particular poses an imminent threat, as a “violent” foreign religion that seeks to overpower Buddhism in Myanmar; 3. Women are in need of protection and particularly vulnerable to the predatory attacks from Muslim men, seeking to convert them and their children; 4. Against these threats, military strength is essential to protect the nation’s borders, unity, and continued existence; 5. A biased and misinformed international community is targeting Myanmar, interfering with its sovereignty; and