Mobile Myanmar: The Impact of Social Media on Young People Living in Conflict-Affected Regions of Myanmar “Yes, there are [misunderstandings]. The religious news like the Muslim issue in Rakhine. Some people accept this, and some don’t accept this.” Male, 24 years, Kayah Christian, Kyun Taw village (Kayah State rural) One Muslim IDP respondent explained how the government and other armed groups used social media to spread fake news about political conflict in order to manipulate public sentiment for political gain. “Relating to war or armed conflict, it is mostly caused by propaganda and the young people can’t understand much about this. The actors behind this conflict can be the government, the Army, AA and other armed groups. I saw many news related to this on Facebook. Sometimes, there is no fighting in that area, but the army spread propaganda saying there is fighting. They also spread propaganda after fighting. It is hard to understand what is really going on in that area [because] we can only read news about it. Some groups use propaganda for political gain. Sometimes, they use young people for propaganda. An army personal can create a fake account and can add young people in his account. It is very effective to use online for mobilizing, propagating, and to create a problem.” Male, 29 years, Rohingya Muslim, Basara (Rakhine State IDP) Issues around race and religion were also identified as being particularly contentious and open to misunderstandings on social media, resulting in confusion, fear, prejudice against certain ethnic or religious groups, and both online and offline conflict. This is consistent with the FGDs in which fake news was identified as spurring on ‘us versus them’ dichotomies that perpetuate interracial and interreligious conflict. “Yes, because of fake news that are biased, they have negative attitudes towards other groups and can insult or offend them with words.” Male, 24 years, Kayah Christian, Daw Lyar Ku & Htee Seh Kaloe Village (Kayah State rural) “It doesn’t change their attitudes but makes them fear. For example, after reading news or posts about a Rakhine issue, they became scared of Kalar people when they meet them.” Female, 35 years, Kayaw Christian, Loikaw (Kayah State urban) “Fake news tends to spread quickly from the sensitive issues like race… Sensitive and complicated issues like politics, race and religion easily cause misunderstandings. The religion problem is between Christians and Buddhists. Buddhists are a minority in this state.” Male, 34 years, Kayan Christian, Loikaw (Kayah State urban) “In relating to religious conflict, one Islamist and one Buddhist posted negative comments against each other’s religion. This started with two people but spread to many people. It started from online, but it has affected offline as they attacked each other when meet outside.” Female, 18 years, Kaman Muslim, Basara (Rakhine State IDP) “When they heard a rumour about a fight, they will say bad words about the leaders even if the news is still unconfirmed.” Male, 20 years, Kayan Christian, Loikaw (Kayah State urban) Most interviewees thought that young people have behaviours that unintentionally spread fake news. By far the most common such behaviour was sharing posts without checking for accuracy (especially if it was about their ethnicity or a group they ‘hate’). Others included arguing with others online, making fun of the person depicted in the news story, and not being able to use Facebook probably. 66