12 Hate Speech Ignited: Understanding Hate Speech in Myanmar A. Objectives and Scope T his report has a number of objectives. First, it seeks to analyze the root causes of hate speech in Myanmar that has been targeting ethnic and religious minorities and eroding their fundamental rights and freedoms. The report examines the role of a variety of players in perpetuating hate speech, including state and non-states actors and in particular, the military and ultranationalist groups and individuals. Second, the report unpacks the effects of hate speech, including its relationship to human rights defenders (“HRDs”) and activists, and the shrinking space for civil society. The report also analyzes the impact on communities and individuals, from the psychological toll of hate speech to the physical violence it has fueled to the divisiveness it has sowed in society generally. Third, the report analyzes the Myanmar government’s use of various laws to curb dissent rather than protect ethnic and religious minorities, HRDs, and activists from hate speech. Finally, the report outlines international human rights standards with regards to hate speech, and assesses how Myanmar and businesses should addresses hate speech, including by instituting prohibitions on incitement but also pursuing a variety of tools to counter the root causes of such speech. The report consists of five parts: this part (Part I) describes the objectives, scope, and methodol- ogy of the report. Part II provides a history of hate speech in Myanmar and the current context in the lead up to the forthcoming November 2020 elections. Part III presents the main analysis of the report, including constructed narratives of hate, the drivers of such speech, and the impacts of the rise of hate speech. Part IV covers the international human rights framework and outlines Myanmar’s obligations to prohibit certain forms of hate speech and safeguard freedom of expression and civil society space. This section also presents the human rights standards that apply to companies operating in Myanmar, including social media corporations like Facebook. Finally, Part V concludes with recommendations for various stakeholders, including steps to be taken in the lead up to the 2020 elections when hate speech and misinformation around race and religion is likely to increase, which could result in further violence against Myanmar’s ethnic and religious minority communities. B. Methodology More than 35 individuals from civil society organizations (CSOs) and the Clinic met to discuss hate speech in Myanmar in detail. Many of the CSOs have been or are at risk of targeting by ultranationalist groups as a result of their work and/or their identity as ethnic and religious minorities. This report presents the analytical insights and experiences with hate speech of 22 Myanmar 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 through interviews and two multi-day convenings held in January and December 2019. At the first convening in January 2019, the organizations developed a context-specific definition of “hate speech,” presented in Part I.C below. The organizations also mapped out key issues and participated in focus group discussions (“FGDs”) on the key narratives, drivers of hate speech, the channels and forms of dissemination and impact on ethnic and religious minority communities and civil