Mobile Myanmar: The Impact of Social Media on Young People Living in Conflict-Affected Regions of Myanmar parents about online relationships because of what they heard about girls who met boys online and ended up marrying early. Most of the feedback from urban participants noted that it was primarily their teachers who helped direct them on how to behave and what to do and not to do online. Examples suggested to them included not sharing false information or posts related to politics, war and conflict, ensuring they know the validity of information before they share it, and not sharing too many pictures. Fake news and propaganda Within the Muslim IDP camps, some participants were not able to describe or understand what fake news is, and when shown an example by the facilitator, some participants could not differentiate between what was real or fake. Those who did understand fake news said it is fabricated information, lying about the truth, the misuse of photos (i.e., using photoshop) to harass others, and news that includes wrong information. Some Muslim IDP young people were able to provide examples of specific fake news they had experienced. “Someone was still alive in hospital, but a news story spread that he/she had already died.” Male, 24 years, Rohingya Muslim, Thet Kel Pyin, (Rakhine State IDP) The urban participants were better at articulating their understanding of fake news, describing it as news that is not accurate and aimed to persuade (often posted by non-credible sources). Most urban participants were able to correctly categorise examples of fake news, real news, and propaganda. Examples of fake news they had seen previously related to conflict, religion, superstitions about luck, and celebrities. “There are some fake news about Chin and Rakhine neighbours who got in a fight, one person [reported this as] ‘Chin and Rakhine community are having a fight’. This kind of post can cause so many issues.” Male, 19 years, Chin Christian, Sittwe (Rakhine State urban) When asked if they knew what propaganda was, responses included that it aimed to persuade other people, was based on religion and race, spread rumours and fake news, and created conflict and agitation. While there was a mix between participants who could and could not differentiate between fake and real news, facilitators observed that it was not clear to most of the participants how fake news and propaganda are different. Participants believed that there were two main reasons people post fake news: either they believe it because they haven’t tried to validate the information, or they know it’s fake but want to spread it to create conflict. Participants reported that in order to check if something is fake news, they looked at how the story is written (including the writing style, spelling and language used), and check the details of the source provided (such as the organisation��s addresses, phone numbers, email, weblinks, etc.) provided. Participants also suggested that they would use any pictures or videos provided with the text to help them determine whether it is trustworthy information. Consensus was that news posted by known or large news organisations are deemed to be trustworthy, and that they check other stories they read against news by these organisations. An urban participant reported that they think there is a difference between how local and international news organisations report news about conflict. “RFA (Radio Free Asia) is linked with an international news agency and ‘My Media’ is a local news [agency]. Sometimes these news agencies present news about on conflict in a different way. ‘My Media’ only focus on news of this country, and they have difficulty presenting their news to international readers.” Female, 22 years, Rakhine Buddhist, Sittwe (Rakhine State urban) 49