5/22/22, 8:02 PM Spin, lies and social media obscure crisis in Myanmar - Asia Times AT FINANCE, BANGLADESH, MYANMAR, SOUTH ASIA, WORLD Spin, lies and social media obscure crisis in Myanmar The government and ethnic Rohingya insurgents are competing to command the narrative about recent violence in conflict-ridden Rakhine State By DAVID SCOTT MATHIESON SEPTEMBER 1, 2017 A Rohingya man carrying his belongings approaches the Bangladesh-Myanmar border in Bandarban, an area under Cox's Bazar authority, Bangladesh, August 29, 2017. Photo: Reuters/Mohammad Ponir Hossain As armed conflict escalates in Myanmar’s western Rakhine State following attacks by ethnic Rohingya militants against state security forces, the war of words is raging in state media, at military press conferences and over social media. The nature of truth in Rakhine State has always been hotly contested, with hyperbolic narratives constructed by all sides often in a state-imposed void of access for independent media or researchers to ascertain hard facts. https://asiatimes.com/2017/09/spin-lies-social-media-obscure-crisis-myanmar/ 1/9