11/22/22, 4:58 PM The ‘extraordinary evolution of Myanmar media’ | Frontier Myanmar In January, the junta also considered criminalising the use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) which people have been using to circumvent banned websites such as Facebook and retain anonymity online. Earlier in December, the military doubled mobile internet usage costs and added a tax on buying new SIM cards in an effort to restrict the sharing of information. Despite the extensive efforts by the junta to use and control the media, they appear to have convinced few people outside of their circle of supporters. They are frequently mocked for their propaganda efforts on social media, and after what people have witnessed during and after the coup, nobody is buying what they’re selling. Former media translator Ko Maung Kyaw* told Frontier he thinks the military propaganda is just designed to legitimise their takeover. “They want to show the world that the situation in the country has become so terrible that the Tatmadaw is the only saviour in town,” he said. “You have to remember, Hitler once said if you are going to lie, go for a ‘big lie’, as people always think one would not lie on such an unprecedented scale.” Since the coup, nearly every independent newspaper has folded, leaving print readers largely with state-run publications like Global New Light of Myanmar. (Frontier) Compromising complexity Media consumption habits in Myanmar have now split into two camps: some people get their information exclusively from the independent press and citizen journalism sources online, and a much smaller group only from military-controlled media. It has led to a social media “bubble effect” in which people only see articles that affirm their pre-existing beliefs. “The problem with social media is you choose what you want to see, and the algorithm will only show what you want to see from them on. If you are a military supporter, your Facebook friends will also be supporters, and others will block you. And you will only see SAC’s propaganda. This is the tragedy of Myanmar that our version of the internet is a social media platform,” said Ma Sint, a young woman from Yangon, on April 22. In addition, activists worry that reporting by independent media outlets has been so focused on reporting on the junta’s violent and repressive takeover that they have rarely turned their critical lens towards the National Unity Government and the pro-democracy movement. Reporting on the NUG is largely uncritical, and their actions are rarely questioned by the media. https://www.frontiermyanmar.net/en/the-extraordinary-evolution-of-myanmar-media/ 3/9